Emerald Wishes
by Sandstone
Summary: When a trainer wishes to go to a world where his soul should have resided, there are complications that he never could have known. Now, an 'amnesia case' has taken his place in the world... except this 'amnesia case' remembers what is usually forgotten.
1. Wish Granted

A/N:

This story is a 'pokemon emerald' story, and as such, if you don't like it, don't read it. Yes, there's someone from 'the real world' sent to the pokemon world, and yes, he has played the game. Will I be changing a few things? Maybe. I don't want to deal with any flames, so I'm stating it now. Especially since Stupid1058 will be used to put out any fires.

Stupid1058: Uhm... please... no flames?

Sandstone: (Glares at Stupid1058 for a moment) Anyway, besides that, welcome, and review if you have any comments. I don't mind critics, so long as they offer something of value.

"Normal Speech"

'Telepathy' or thoughts. It'll be easy enough to tell the difference, and frankly, I'm not going to start cursing a blue streak to get the italics to work, since they don't carry over for some asinine reason.

* * *

Wish Granted:

'Each being is unique, right? They say that all the time… every living being is unique, in some way, different from everyone else of their species. I suppose it's true enough… not that it matters here, anyway….'

The teenager, still thinking, absently ducked a thrown softball with a skill that suggested he'd been dealing with the issue for years. A baseball was thrown in return, and he merely pressed himself to the wall to evade the harder object, wincing slightly as it cracked hard into the tiles downstairs.

The sources of the commotion, two sisters, continued to throw easily-found objects at each other, while the brown haired and brown eyed teen ducked into his room, and shut the door, just as a splash (as well as shattering glass, they'd progressed to breakable objects) was heard. He was best described as hard to describe, he was apparently sixteen, had a thin pair of glasses that made him look… odd, as well as a shirt with the comment of 'I don't live in your world, so don't try to make me care' on it (it was an annoyingly bright orange as well). He also wore black baggy pants festooned with pockets that made his legs look massive. Completing his strange look was teenaged fuzz that was patchy, and made him look somewhat stupid, while his hair was short-cut enough that it stuck up in practically every direction, though it was probably an inch long.

He plopped down onto a bedspread that was grey in color. The room was plainly painted in a deep blue – there was a few old movie posters, a poster that listed various statistics of ships from the Star Wars universe, and hanging by his bed, a smaller 'poster' that featured Kyogre, Groudon, and Rayquaza facing off against each other, each glowing their signature color.

Almost lazily, he reached between the bed and the wall, and pulled out a battered-looking Game Boy Advance, then tossed it on the bed, reaching for something else, and blindly plugging it into the wall outlet, then making sure the Game Boy was connected to the adaptor. Once he was satisfied, he turned it on and stretched out on his back, holding the Game Boy somewhat above him, while he skipped scenes, instead loading his game data.

His expression shifted from boredom and a rather blank look to a bit of surprise, with one lifted eyebrow, as he realized his character wasn't where he'd last saved at. He mouthed silently, "Strange… those two don't play this game, it's too kidlike for them…"

He held the game boy with one hand, using the paddle with just his thumb, while he looked around for the remote to his stereo system, probably the most expensive thing in his room. He finally found the thing sitting on his desk (again, odd, it was usually somewhere else), and turned on the CD player, a song from .Hack/Sign playing softly, before he turned back to the game.

His character had exclamation marks over his head, like he'd been challenged to a battle or something. He pressed 'A', but rather than the usual 'battle' phase-in, it instead switched to a cutscene. Jirachi, of all pokemon, slowly descended downward, then opened its two normal eyes, and smiled faintly, though something seemed a bit… wrong with the smile.

Then the battle phase-in finally went, and he was faced with a level one hundred Jirachi. He merely shrugged – his own team was level one hundred as well, and he had the two legendary pokemon Kyogre and Groudon… one level one hundred really didn't have much of a hope against his balanced team (not that he wanted to KO it, he just wanted to catch it). His Blaziken was first up, but just as it popped out, the words blurred, and became unreadable. They finally settled again, but rather than the typical 'Blaze, Go!', the words read 'Though it threatens the balance of two worlds… so it was wished, so it shall be done…' Jirachi, on the game, made a wish attack, and the screen went black.

The music of Obsession, .Hack/Sign's introduction song continued to play, while the teen looked curiously at the game, ignoring the blue powder that was accumulating in his room. Finally, he sneezed, and then his eyes, heavy for some reason, shut.

The screen flickered on again, and Jirachi was shown up in a full-close up, its face rather sad-looking. 'You can never come back… our world will be your home now' were the words that appeared underneath, in the text, while its mouth moved, lip-synching the words, though no sound was made.

The teenager disappeared, and the displaced air ruffled some papers that were lying about the room. One fluttered onto the bed, and sat there, face up. It was an old school paper, just a stray math assignment he hadn't thrown out.

The name listed was David Groch… but that slowly faded away. Instead, the name Brendan replaced it.

&&&&&

Dave slowly started to awaken. He looked around in confusion – off in the distance, he could see the signs of a town, but he was in a deep pile of grass. It was dark out, but a full moon and a sky full of stars made it bright enough for him to see, he'd always had rather good night vision, even if he lived in a suburb. He started to reach for his glasses, then realized they were already on his face, and sighed, muttering. But when he tried to look outward, his right eye only got a horrible blur, so he took them off, only to see normally, even when he shut his left eye (his eyes were odd, he was farsighted and had a stigmatism in his right eye, but his left was only slightly nearsighted). 'Strange' he thought, as he pocketed his glasses instead, keeping them just in case.

He started to get up, when a growling made him turn slowly toward the sound, then gulp, staring in shock. Its hackles up, a black and red puppy was glaring at him, even though it was favoring one paw, and bleeding from an ear. Dave, being something others called a 'bleeding heart' sometimes, returned the glare with unblinking eyes, even though they were heavily lidded, and Sleep Powder still occasionally drifted off his eyelashes and eyebrows. He'd learned one thing about canines – you showed you were boss first, and they didn't try to bite you. Of course, it might lead to a 'challenge' of a physical fight, but he had weight and size advantage, thankfully, so it wasn't likely.

The Houndour tried to sustain the glaring contest, but then yelped as it tried to put weight on its injured paw, and collapsed. Dave walked closer to it. The Houndour made to bite him, but before it could blink, his hand was holding its mouth shut firmly. Dave merely smiled, having a moronic puppy did have some advantages – he'd gotten a lot faster at that trick. He again met the puppy-like pokemon's eyes, though this time they were looking a lot less confident, and far more worried. Even though Houndour could use fire attacks, they still needed to use their mouths to launch the flame, and it could not open its mouth. Finally, Dave loosened his grip, and looked over the pokemon for the first time, actually realizing what it was. "Houndour? Well, this is interesting… what the hell was that 'so it was wished, so it will be done' crap about… this? Weird…" To be honest, he was having a lot of inner turmoil, but then mentally said 'screw it, it's not like I actually liked home that much… please don't let this be a dream…'

The young Houndour tried to growl, but Dave merely gave it a gaze, his dark brown eyes becoming black. It wasn't a threatening glare, more like a 'do you really want to piss someone off, who happens to be far larger than you' look. The youngster instead settled for whimpering, until Dave loosened up again, though he still held the jaw with enough force to keep it closed, the young Houndour could breathe easier. Dave asked softly, "Why are you growling at me? I didn't attack you, I was asleep… hell, I shouldn't even be here, no matter how much I wanted to be… did some pokemon trainer attack you?"

The Houndour whimpered in response, shuddering. Dave, understanding what it meant, used his free left hand to cautiously probe the favored paw. "Feels ok, though I'm no vet, and your ear will be ragged, but that's not as big of a deal…" He trailed off, then said thoughtfully, "I can't trust that. Best find you a center to be healed, I can claim you are my pokemon, then release you when you're healed. That sound good?"

The Houndour made a derisive noise through its nose, and Dave snorted in response. "Please. I'm sixteen, not a ten year old. I have no reason to lie, and I don't have any pokeballs. Once you are healed, all I can do is hold your mouth shut so you don't turn me into a barbecue, assuming you don't know Faint Attack."

The Houndour remained silent, then slowly bobbed its head. Dave held it easy within his arms, and released its muzzle, asking, "Before I forget, are you a guy or girl? I never could tell, and it would be impolite to check like that…"

The Houndour looked up to him, a strange expression on its face, before it shook its head, then nodded. "Female?"

"Dour." – an affirmative. Dave just slightly smiled, then walked toward the settlement, the Houndour still occasionally wriggling in his arms, trying to get comfortable.


	2. Trainer's Path

Trainer's path:

It was rather easy for Dave to find the pokemon center, it had a red roof, and had the words "Pokemon Center" written all over it. Well, actually, it wasn't, he'd gotten lost in the sprawling streets and twisted routes, but he still recognized it without question. He stepped inside, still carrying the Houndour. There were a few other people inside, who looked toward him, then started to look away, before looking back. Not that Dave noticed (he was getting a share of the looks just because he didn't look the type to give a crap), he instead was concentrating on not falling over, the Sleep Powder in his hair had caused the Houndour to fall asleep, while he was drowsy himself from breathing in the stuff.

The nurse turned toward him, then exclaimed in shock. Dave tiredly smiled, then said, "She's favoring her right front paw…"

The nurse motioned for him to follow her, as she walked at a calm pace to a room with a table on it, then motioned for Dave to set down the Houndour. Dave did, brushing aside a strand of hair as he did so, causing a bit more blue Sleep Powder to fall. The nurse noticed it, but didn't comment, instead examining the Houndour for serious injuries. "Do you know what happened?"

Dave merely shook his head. "No, I found her like that when she growled at me." Normally, most people would be frantic about possibly getting home, and if their family worried about them, but Dave… well, he was the black sheep of the family, he knew that while he would be missed, he'd rather actually stay here… his 'useless' game knowledge would help him out a lot. He shook his head, clearing away thoughts of his family, as the nurse repeated her question of, "Where did you find this Houndour?", and noticing that he was paying attention, added, "They're not native to Hoenn."

Dave scratched his head, then said vaguely, "A field within sight of town…" His head slumped, and the nurse merely frowned, then called for a pokemon that knew Heal Bell to wake up both the human and Houndour when she was done. That he'd fallen asleep was not a surprise, she had seen the blue powder that was still on him, it looked like a grass type pokemon had sprayed him with it. She might have wondered if he'd caused the harm, but the wounds were caused by another pokemon, no human had fangs like that. Maybe a Poochyena had attacked this Houndour. The poor thing was thin, the local pokemon must have taken to attacking it.

&&&&&

Dave was awoken by the sound that he knew was a Heal Bell move, just from the soothing sound. A Chimecho was floating among them, singing happily to itself.

That was, until the Houndour started to launch embers at it. Reacting quickly, he stood up, and walked slowly toward her, then shut her mouth with his hand again. "Don't start any fires, the pokemon just woke us up, that's all. Unless you enjoy being put to sleep by something… Sleep Powder? I don't." The Chimecho, not noticing that it had been attacked, continued to sing for a short while, then floated away.

The nurse walked in, just as Dave finished. She remained silent, just watching, as the two had a stare down, but rather surprisingly, the teenager showed a remarkable ability of being able to not blink while he stared, leaving the nurse wondering how he could see straight.

Finally, the Houndour looked aside, and Dave let her muzzle go. "Just behave, and you'll be out of here, and I'll be out of your life."

The nurse finally coughed to let the two know she was in the room, and went up to the Houndour, checking on her paw and bandages. "It will be some time before that happens though, this poor Houndour has been through the works, and she's too thin to survive in the wild for any reliable amount of time."

The Houndour growled, expressing her disagreement, but the nurse ignored her, especially since Dave still was standing next to her, his hand looking like it was ready to snap her mouth shut if she misbehaved. The nurse continued, "Though I must say, you do know quite a trick, in knowing how to control a canine pokemon like that, while still letting it breathe."

Dave merely shrugged. "I did it on a rather annoying puppy back home, it's why my reflexes are so fast. I didn't want him nipping on me, so I got faster than he was." Lazily, he used his left hand to scratch at the Houndour's ribs, which were easily felt and defined – she was thin, if he could feel them that easily. He frowned slightly, then sighed, shaking his head. There was nothing he could do about that, he'd promised her he'd leave her alone once she was healed.

The Houndour growled again, but it sounded different this time. In walked a hooded figure, with a jagged M on his shirt. "Where's the foreign pokemon? Team Magma's recruiting it."

Dave, in his position, was shielding the Houndour from sight. He knew very well about Team Magma, and their goals, he'd played Pokemon games since Blue and Red versions, and he'd beaten Emerald… he knew the Hoenn Teams well. "What good is a foreign pokemon going to do for a team determined to raise Groudon? Not a whole lot…"

The Magma goon stared in shock at Dave, while Dave merely had a smirk on his face that should have been illegal. He continued in a dry tone, "Besides, it's not like you can exactly control that thing. Groudon will always just look for Kyogre, and fight it, causing hell all over the planet while they feud. And say it wins… you'd have millions of pokemon looking to kill you, and stop Groudon at the same time."

The grunt frowned, then released a Poochyena. "I don't need some punk lecturing me. I'm just going to take that pokemon you're hiding, and be done with it. Poochyena, get him out of the way."

Dave stood still as it rushed him, then suddenly moved, his foot flicking out and into the Poochyena's side. The puppy-like pokemon exhaled, then fell to the floor, winded from the hit it hadn't expected. Dave merely crossed his arms, and yawned. Pissed off, the Poochyena got back up on its feet, and raced forward again. But a low growl cut it off, as the Houndour Dave had been shielding suddenly appeared before it, and sprayed it with embers, making the Poochyena yelp. The Houndour growled, gave it a Leer, then fired another series of Ember attacks at it, making it pass out. The Houndour finished up by setting the Magma grunt aflame with embers. He ran out, cursing, as he beat on his uniform, trying to put out the blaze. Why Team Magma wouldn't issue flame-retardant uniforms was questionable… perhaps their leader was more insane than everyone thought.

The nurse slowly looked to Dave, who was speaking softly to the Houndour, and said in a rather shocked tone, "That was a Team Magma member…"

Dave nodded, and stroked the Houndour's good ear, making her tail wag. "Yeah, it was. I've learned a few things about them, Team Aqua, and the legends they seek. I thought Magma would be smart enough to issue flame-retardant uniforms, but they must be stupider than I thought… their efforts are futile, even if they do succeed; all they'll do is fuck up the world. Can't imagine why they'd need an injured Houndour, no offense…"

The Houndour growled slightly, but from the way her tail was wagging, she didn't mind that much. The nurse shook her head in amazement, and said, "Young man, you seriously ought to look into pokemon training, or becoming a professor. I have never met a wild Houndour who became tame so easily just by interacting with someone."

Dave chuckled, while the Houndour merely settled for looking thoughtful. The nurse walked back out, content that the Houndour was healing well, and that she wouldn't misbehave with the teenager who had found her in the room.

Dave looked curiously at the Houndour, and then said softly, "What's on your mind? You had a thoughtful look for a second."

"Dour, houndour." She walked up to him, limping slightly from her injured paw, and then sat in front of him, her tail wagging slowly. She lifted her bad paw, and then made a motion that almost seemed to echo a pokemon trainer throwing a pokeball.

Dave arched an eyebrow at her, as he said slowly, "I think I got that… you want to work with me when I'm a pokemon trainer?"

The Houndour nodded, a smile on her blackened face that almost made it seem like she was a harmless Growlithe. Dave stared at the (to him) was strange behavior, then slowly nodded. "Uh… sure. I wanted to become a trainer anyway, especially since I found out Magma's around… might be fun to become a major pest to them, and piss off Aqua at the same time."

The Houndour coughed up a few stray bits of smoke, then smirked. Dave scratched the back of her neck, and she acquired a dazed look as he scratched with nails that were longer than the usual guy's, removing a layer of skin with them that was due to be shed anyway.


	3. Daughter of Fame

A/N: One thing to note, just in case you were wondering: I never said how long Dave's nails were, just beyond that they were longer than the usual guy's. He doesn't have female-length nails, just longer than the average joe's.

Anyways, besides a few random sideline amusement... screw it.

Stupid1058: I WILL CONSUME... (Sweatdrops) Oh shit.

Sandstone: Bwahaha! (Pulls out a Superdragon) Die Stupid, die!

Stupid1058: (Flees from the grenade rounds)

(This is a page break, the line thingy in the editor isn't working)

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Daughter of fame:

Dave spent the night at the pokemon center, the nurse had told him that the Houndour be healthy the next day.

As he checked her out, the nurse asked curiously, "I never got your name… could you tell me it, that way I can write to Birch to expect you, and have a starter ready?"

Dave bent down, and scratched the Houndour next to him. "She's agreed to come with me, but sure… the name's Caleryn, but call me Cal." Dave really didn't like his real name, but he liked being called 'Cal', so he always gave that as his name, or Caleryn if they wanted a 'full' name, he'd read the name somewhere before.

The nurse nodded, and jotted it down, before nodding toward the door, already turning to a younger trainer who had an injured Taillow.

The two of them walked out of the pokemon center, and Cal (as he now vowed to call himself), looked toward a signpost, before heading out of Petalburg City, weaving through crowds. Interestingly, Norman's picture was all over, as were a few shots of him with his family – his wife and daughter. Weird, in Cal's opinion, he'd thought that the anime would have been correct… guess not. Though he hadn't been paying too much attention when he tried to get to the center, now he sure was paying attention. So that meant Red was hanging out at Mt. Silver, Blue was in charge of Viridian Gym, and the rest… well, maybe, he didn't know the exact timing of the Hoenn game.

The Houndour barked softly, and Cal looked down at her, then grinned. "You know, I don't think Houndour really suits you. You are rather nice, if a bit temperamental…" She shot him a dark look at that, then gave a bark that was probably a laugh. Cal fell silent, then asked, "Would Lira work?" The Houndour tilted her head curiously, then Cal added, "I think Lir… well, they don't know which gender whoever it was anymore… anyway, it was a mythological figure who survived a plague, and was a wandering bard/poet, who was rather disrespected for being of 'evil' descent... like you dark types get fear, sometimes. I just added the 'a' because I don't think you'd like to be confused as a guy."

The Houndour paused, and nodded after some thought. "Dour, Hound."

Cal smiled. He'd never liked calling anything living by its species name. Though he was hardly alone in the Pokemon game in doing that, he was probably one of the few that used mythological names that were actual names, rather than something like 'Balrog'. "You need a ride, Lira? Or can you walk?"

The Houndour, now named Lira, shook her head. She instead sniffed the air, then walked beside the teenaged (soon to be) trainer, leading him through the city. Some of the people walking around were sporting 'Norman official shirts', or something like that. Not that Cal cared, he was still wearing his bright orange shirt that caused pain to people's eyes if they looked too long at it.

They had been walking for about fifteen minutes, when a crowd of people blocking the road cut them off. They were talking excitedly about something that was obviously inside their circle. Lira looked worried, but Cal just shot her a reassuring look, before slipping into the crowd. The Houndour followed him, her small size letting her slip between legs easily, while Cal somehow managed to get through without even elbowing anyone. In the center was a brown-haired girl with a headband on her head, looking a bit pained. Her red shirt / jacket (Cal didn't really know what to call it) and short black shorts combined with her expression to make her seem younger, if her body didn't betray that she was a young woman. The one thing that made her seem a little off was that her nose was slightly crooked, like she'd broken it once, and it healed improperly. "I just stopped by to visit dad, that's all… can you let me…"

She trailed off as Cal pushed his way through, Lira walking a bit behind him. He arched an eyebrow at the chattering crowd, then asked her softly, "Problem getting through?"

She nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Just because I'm Norman's daughter, they seem to think I'm someone special… just because I'm related to him."

Cal winced, then shouted, "GET THE FUCK OUTTA MY FUCKING WAY!" The crowd stopped chattering, and instead turned to the source of the noise. Cal had a cold look on his face, as he said pointed to a section, and said, "You lot. Move. Now. Or I won't be held responsible."

Lira, right beside him, shot them a Leer attack, sparks dancing out from the edges of her mouth, which was even enhanced by her tattered ear, which gave the impression that she had seen years of fighting (technically, she had, but she wasn't super-strong). Slowly, and almost reluctantly, the crowd parted, and Cal jerked his head toward the opening. Norman's girl slowly walked through it, a bit red-faced, while Cal looked indifferent, though his eyes were narrowed, giving him an 'I'm pissed off, and not in a good mood' look. The girl motioned for them to follow her, then she sprinted off toward a small street, Cal and Lira moving quickly behind her.

The crowd remained still, exchanging confused looks. Finally, someone wondered, "Was that a Houndour? And her boyfriend?"

Several boys their age frowned, acquiring murderous looks… as did three girls.

In the side street, Cal followed the girl's frantic pace as she raced through abandoned houses and a few shops, cutting through buildings before slowing down, then leaning against a building, catching her breath. She said to the two of them, "Sorry about that… but thanks. It would have taken… forever to get out of there."

Cal smiled softly, though he too was trying to catch his breath. "No problem. I was a bit annoyed anyway… they were blocking the street."

The girl blinked, then giggled helplessly. "You're the first trainer I've seen who pulled that trick, most of the others just go around. Though your Houndour probably helped out, most people are used to Poochyena, first time I've seen a Houndour, actually." She peered at Lira, and bit her lip at the ragged condition of her right ear.

Cal rolled his eyes, bending down to scratch Lira. She went cross-eyed as he got a good spot, her tail wagging frantically. "She did it on her own… and just for that, she's going to get some treats as soon as I find some of 'em."

The girl smiled, then said softly, "Aww… that's so cute, a boy and his…" she trailed off, the typical saying was 'Growlithe', Houndour were a bit scary to some people. The Houndour must have heard her, because it looked toward her, but rather than dark black eyes that creeped her out or scared her, instead, it looked hurt. She said apologetically in a whisper, "Sorry."

Cal, not hearing or seeing the dialog that was mostly silent, said lightly, "Name's Cal, and this is Lira. Got a name, or should I call you 'Norman's kid'?"

The girl frowned, then shook her head, smiling, when she realized he was joking (thankfully). "I'm May. I stopped by to see dad before I went to Littleroot Town, since mom decided to move here instead of there… and the crowd found me as I was leaving the gym."

Cal shook his head tiredly. "Ouch, that's really got to suck. Well, we're going there anyway, mind having some company?"

May looked at the two of them in confusion, then asked, "Don't you already have your pokemon trainer's license? I mean, you have your own pokemon…"

Cal shook his head. "Lira's technically wild. The nurse didn't have a pokeball… and I'm sort of broke, so I can't buy one."

May smiled secretly, then reached into her pack, pulling out a pokeball. She tossed the ball to Cal, saying, "Here. It's questionable, but since you said you're out to get your license, so long as you don't try to catch any pokemon besides her, you'll be fine." Cal looked over the ball, making sure it wasn't a trick (just in case, he had a paranoia problem), then enlarged it.

Lira barked, getting Cal's attention. He lowered the ball in full size next to her, and she sniffed it, before she was satisfied, and nudged it. The ball opened, and closed. Rather then shaking, it immediately signaled a successful capture, and Cal lifted the ball, and opened it. Lira flashed out, and yawned, then muttered "Dour, dour, hound dour dour…"

Cal caught the tone, and said, "Lemme guess, you don't like it in there."

She shot him a dark smirk that said it all, and Cal merely laughed, then turned to May. "Thanks… but what's the price?"

She shrugged. "Eh, I could use a companion, these trips are boring. I was supposed to be picked up by Brendan Birch, but his father said he disappeared a few days ago. There's been a big manhunt since then… haven't you heard?"

Cal shook his head. "I'm kinda foreign. It's hard to explain, let's just get out of here before that mob comes back, the 'I'm going to kill you, eat your heart, and feed the scraps to my hellhound' trick only works so many times."

May nodded, and started leading the two of them through the twisting streets, out of the city.

&&&&&

Cal looked at the city that they'd just gotten out of, then sighed in a relieved way. "I hate cities like that, remind me of Los… never mind."

May gave him a curious look. "Los? Is that the name of some city?" Lira gave him a curious gaze as well, before shaking her head – she really didn't care either way. Cal merely smiled twistedly, and said, "Really far away, I just don't want to talk about it. Just think of it as a Saffron City or Rustboro without much love for pokemon."

May's eyes misted over as she tried to imagine it, then shook her head. "I can imagine why you don't want to talk about it. Let's keep moving."

Just as she said that, a figure in street clothes jumped out from a bush (typical), and grabbed May by the throat. She gagged, while the figure, his face burned, said, "Alright, you… hand over the Houndour now! Or even better…" He used his free hand to throw a pokeball at her, and Cal was now glad May had given him that pokeball, because otherwise, he'd have to intercept it, and he couldn't from the way he'd been taken by surprise.

The ball bounced off Lira, and she frowned, before giving the figure (who she recognized, even though Cal didn't) a Leer worthy of a Houndoom or worse. His grip weakened, and May fought her way free of his grasp, taking deep breaths, before suddenly lashing out, and kicking him in a spot that made Cal wince, while the man collapsed. From his position, Cal finally recognized the man, and said quickly, "A Magma grunt… you're the same one that tried to steal Lira earlier. May, get going… I'm going to knock him out so he can't follow us easily." May nodded, and walked ahead, almost serenely, while Cal walked up to the groaning grunt, and kicked him hard in the temple twice. The first blow made him stop moving, but the second was just to be safe. Lira ran up to him, turned, and kicked dirt over the downed Magma, before running after May. Cal remained still, chuckling, before he did the same.

When he caught up with May, he looked at her in concern, and asked, "You ok?"

May sighed, then shuddered. "I… well, sad to say, I'm used to it. I know self defense, but guys kept on trying to press themselves onto me." She shuddered again, and said bitterly, "At least he didn't try to rape me." She looked at Cal, who had a murderous look in his eyes, before sighing. "Don't worry about it. I haven't been raped, just c… came close a few times, Dad couldn't always keep a good eye on me, and I was a bit stupid."

There was a silence, as they continued to walk, May leading the way, lost somewhere between thought and memories.

&&&&&

After a few hours of walking, May was slightly staggering, while Cal held a wincing Lira. Her paw was acting up again, and it was getting dark. May groaned, then walked over to a tree, sitting down heavily. "Oh man… I didn't want to camp, I didn't even bring my tent…"

Cal shrugged, sitting down next to her. He was aching slightly from the walking, but May was the one who apparently hauled a ton of stuff (except for camping gear, it seemed) and other objects in her backpack. "If you're so tired, then take a breather. It's getting dark, no reason to sprain an ankle walking. They aren't exactly fun." Cal said that last part from experience, he'd severely twisted both his ankles at one time or another from sports (mostly soccer), and he secretly wondered if he could even twist them anymore. Because he should have twisted his ankle with a spill he'd taken when dusk was happening, instead, it just hurt for a little bit, then went away. Now, a mostly full moon hovered overhead, and it wasn't light enough for them to keep on moving without risking injuries, and Lira couldn't produce a steady source of light to move by.

May was lost in her own thoughts, and finally said, "Uh, Cal? I'm going on the other side of the tree… and don't you dare look."

Cal nodded, stretching out on the grass. "Wouldn't dare."

May went around, and got changed into something that she could afford to get grass-stained (a pair of jeans and a black shirt that she hated), before walking back. Strangely, in the two minutes it had taken her to find the right clothes in the dark, and get changed, Cal and Lira had fallen asleep, Lira curled up in a ball beside Cal. She just looked at the two of them in the weak light… if she could take a picture of that, she'd probably make some cash. Cal wasn't exactly bad looking, though his usual dour facial expression and constant chin-fuzz ruined it (not to mention his odd fashion sense – eye hurting orange with black?)… but the two of them sleeping peacefully right next to each other would make most girls say 'aww…' (she sure was), and consider getting a Houndour, even if they were afraid of dark types.

Still smiling, she unrolled her camp bed that she'd taken out, and placed it on the ground – hopefully, the green color wouldn't get stained up that badly.

She had a hard time getting to sleep, at first. After all, May had long since gotten used to her parents room being on the other side of the wall, and her father's snores penetrating it... as well as her mother's sleep-talking. To be in a quiet zone (Cal did not make a single noise in his sleep, and Lira didn't either) was a bit unnerving.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Stupid1058 lies dead on the ground, with several large craters surrounding him. Sandstone, AKA several other nicknames, including 'wacko', cackles, and shifts the machine gun/grenade launcher to his shoulder.

Sandstone: Don't give me those glares. You have no idea how annoying it can be to have this guy around. His random statements at the...

Stupid1058's voice: FISHCAKES! I DEMAND FISHCAKES BAKED IN GRAVY!

Sandstone: ... even when I pump him full of lead and blow him to pieces... he just won't... stop... (Shoots Stupid1058 in the head a few times, and walks away muttering profanities)


	4. Littleroot Town

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Between the various stories I've been working on, and school starting again, I completely forgot about the fact that I'd nearly finished this chapter. So to make it up to ya, this chapter is about more than twice the length of the previous chapters.

Stupid1058: I LIVE! And I now will make Sandstone... (Falls over dead again)

A girl with flame red hair, fox ears sticking out from her hair, and nine fox tails swaying behind her lowered her hand, which was still smoking from the energy-blast that caused Stupid1058 to fall over dead. She was dressed in a kimono that was modified for her status, though red fur covered her completely, even her face was somewhat fox-like.

Fox-girl: You're right. He was annoying.

Sandstone: (Rubs the back of his head) Eh heh... yeah.

Girl: Yo, mom says it's time for me to head back. Need me for any other problems?

Sandstone: (Shakes head) Nah. Next time, I'll shoot him into a black hole.

Girl: ... will that work?

Sandstone: ... for fifteen minutes.

Girl: (Sweatdrops, and vanishes in a swirl of leaves)

Sandstone: Well, that was fun.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Littleroot Town

Cal woke up first (he'd been first to drift off, Lira kept on waking up in the middle of the night), and looked at the other two, still sleeping. He shrugged, and then shut his eyes, sitting up in a meditative pose, his eyes facing toward the sun, which was risen, but still vaguely red.

Lira was the next up, she just walked over to him, and sat next to him, her paw better, even if her rest had been fitful, thanks to a pack of Mightyena howling at the moon nearby. She nuzzled him with her head for a moment, and Cal reached over, scratching again at her skin. The Houndour let her tongue hang out as she felt the itchy skin peel off, and flake away under his nails, her own were only good at opening up cuts on her skin. The blood helped relieve the itch, but so did scratches. She was starting to like being a trainer's pokemon, if this was the kind of treatment they got, she wondered why she hadn't done it sooner.

May was the last to awaken. She rubbed her eyes, then looked at where Cal had been. He was sitting up, in a meditative pose, Lira sitting beside him. The Houndour looked remarkably content, May secretly wondered how long she'd been scratched (that Houndour seemed to love being scratched, she'd even begged from her for scratches), because the fact that there was a detectable amount of white among the black in her fur suggested it had been awhile.

May walked up to Cal, and was about to poke him, when he asked her, "Ready to go yet?"

May blinked, then curiously waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't react, but he said softly, "You haven't moved… I knew because your step is just heavy enough for me to hear it, by the way."

May blinked, then curiously made a step backward in a way she thought was normal. Cal said softly, "Heard it." She took a much softer step, and Cal remained silent. She turned, and walked away, heading for the cover the tree provided again. It didn't seem like Cal would look, but she didn't want a guy seeing her only in panties and a bra, especially if she was traveling alone with him. Sure she could defend herself, but she didn't want to provoke that if she had to.

She came back, slipping quietly up to Cal, and then shouted, "HI CAL!"

Cal reacted by jumping up, and getting into a low position that looked like he was either going to kick her, or start a race. He looked at May, then shook his head. "May, you are an evil woman. Evil, you hear me? I was trying to achieve nirvana… or some crap like that." He chuckled at her expression, then said lightly, "What? I just do it because it feels good, and helps clear my mind."

May sighed, and said, "You've got dirt on your shirt, you know. You might want to brush it…" She never finished her sentence, Cal had taken it off, and was brushing off the dirt shirtless. He was fairly built (she could see faint definition, but not a whole lot), he had what looked like a tan, and he wasn't chubby at all, his stomach was about even with his ribs. From what she could tell, his body wasn't exactly built like some other guys she'd seen, he had more of a build that suggested 'runner' – most other guys she knew tried to show off by developing biceps. Not like she liked those overdeveloped types like bodybuilders anyway…

Cal finished brushing off his shirt, then looked toward May, something glinting in his eye. "What, expecting breasts or something?"

May flushed. While she didn't have a problem with lesbians, she was still uncomfortable with them, and she was definitely heterosexual. "Uh… that isn't funny."

Cal merely smirked, then put his t-shirt back on. "Just checking. Either way, you would have flushed…" He trailed off, then laughed. "Though why were you looking at me? I'm nothing to look at."

May looked away, and said quickly, "Uh… changing topic… now…"

"Dour, hound."

May looked back toward the path, then said, "Let's get going. We'll make Littleroot Town if we don't wait around today."

Cal muttered something under his breath that she didn't catch, though Lira did. But it made no sense to her – he'd said "doom on oui", like it was a potent curse or something.

&&&&&

May and Cal were walking next to each other, though they'd fallen silent. May had run out of questions to ask, and Cal had refused to talk about where he was from, which limited a lot of what she knew about him. He had two sisters, and was the black sheep of the family… she didn't understand the phrase, until he'd rephrased it as 'black Mareep', which made her wonder – she'd never heard of a 'sheep' before, and said that his hobby had been daydreaming, until something had happened, which made daydreams pointless. She didn't get that either, to be honest.

A young trainer stepped out in front of them, and said, "I challenge you to a battle!"

Cal blinked, and looked toward Lira, who shook her head. She wasn't interested. "Nope. Sorry kid. Technically, she's just my pet pokemon, I'm not a trainer."

The youngster peered toward Lira, who he had assumed was a Poochyena, then drew back when he realized what she was. "Uh… I've got some friends to meet… uh… bye!" He dashed off at high speed. May and Cal exchanged a wondering look, while Lira made a face at the coppery smell of fear in the air. She dashed ahead, and upwind of where the kid had been, then proceeded to snort, getting rid of the scent.

May asked curiously as they walked after her, "What's with Lira?"

Cal shrugged. "She's probably getting rid of something from her nose. Maybe the kid was really afraid or something, and she doesn't like the scent. Though that's odd, Houndour are predators, aren't they?"

May nodded slowly. "If my time at Pokemon Trainer's school serves me, they are. Maybe it's an allergy or something." Lira made a derisive bark of "dour" at that, they had caught up with her as they talked. She just set herself back at Cal's right side, and walked next to him. They had to walk a bit slower thanks to her stubbornness, but not that much slower, she was in good shape, despite her lack of food.

May, thinking about that, felt her stomach groan, and she sighed. "Oh great, now I'm hungry…"

Cal merely smirked slightly. "I haven't eaten in the last two days besides some stew. So don't complain. And Lira was on starvation fare, from what I hear, for at least two weeks."

The mentioned Houndour's stomach grumbled, and Cal's smile increased. "Well, it seems someone's hungry. Ready to take a break from walking?"

Lira met Cal's gaze, then sighed, saying "hound… dour." Cal held up her pokeball, and returned her inside of it, before walking off at a faster pace. May jogged for a second to catch up, then trailed him by a bit as he followed the path. "Why isn't your stomach growling?"  
Cal merely settled for shrugging. "I'm weird. My appetite comes and goes a lot; I guess it's just gone for now." He rubbed the side of his head, and scowled in the direction of a kid who was approaching them with a pokeball in his hand. The kid turned, and walked away.

&&&&&

Much later in the day, the two soon-to-be trainers arrived in a small town. May was wincing as she walked, while Cal was rubbing the side of his head again, trying to relieve a massive headache he had. He muttered softly, "Damn, so much for that… stupid hunger headaches…"

May took one look around, then said, "I think there's an all you can eat buffet somewhere around here…"

Cal sighed. "If I had any money, that would be welcome news. Now, all you're doing is making it worse."

May rolled her eyes at him, and added, "I'll let you borrow some of my money, but you're going to escort me around Hoenn, I really don't want to travel alone, too many girls have been raped that way."

Cal nodded, then followed after her as she led him to a building with the name 'Endless buffet' as the name. May paid for the two of them, quickly shouting at the attendant that he was not her boyfriend when asked, then they set to work on eating. While May ate lighter foods, Cal went immediately toward the meats. They sat down at the same table, and May gave him a curious look, noticing that he was slipping food to something under the table. She then realized what he was doing, and smiled, before going back to eating enough to replace all her missed meals.

May finished up her salad, and went back up for some more fruit. Cal was still viciously attacking a burger, while underneath the table; a Houndour finished up the small plate of meat Cal had given her, then sighed contently, nudging Cal to indicate she was done. Cal returned her, still eating left-handed, just as a curious staff member looked toward him, on guard for him slipping some larger pokemon some food – trainers tended to forget that they had to pay if a pokemon was a certain size or above for entry, if they intended to release them.

May sat down again, and asked in an innocent tone, "How's Lira doing?"

Cal's eyes scanned the general area (though his head hardly moved), then he smiled. "Fed, full, and ready to hit something with embers. How long until Littleroot, since I'm apparently playing bodyguard…"

May giggled silently. "Oh, not long. Maybe thirty minutes, if you don't mind jumping some ledges." She had to wonder, because she had seen him limping from something occasionally – maybe he'd sprained his ankle, but was too macho to admit it or something… "You hurt your ankle or something?"  
Cal shook his head. "Na. It should have been twisted, except it seems like I can't twist my ankle anymore, it just hurt." He started to bring the burger toward his mouth, then set it down, sighing. He couldn't eat anymore and then expect to do anything that involved physical activity, because he'd fall asleep. "I'm done, so whenever you're ready, we can move on."

May nodded, then got up, stretching slightly. "Alright 'bodyguard', let's get going." Cal merely shook his head in amusement, then followed her out.

&&&&&

Cal jumped down the nine-foot ledge, landing in a crouched position, and then looked up toward May. "Need a hand?"

May shook her head. "No, I'm good." She took a breath, and jumped down as Cal had. But rather than landing with bent knees, she landed stiffly, and thanks to the extra weight she was carrying, off-balance enough that she started to fall forward.

That was, until Cal's arm caught her, and held her up from falling (he'd gotten her by the stomach, so she lost her breath by compensation). May shakily got her balance back, and then smiled toward him, breathing slowly. "Thanks."

Cal merely returned the smile with a slight grin, and jerked his head toward the remaining ledges. "You might want to take off your backpack before you jump; the things mess with your center of gravity and balance."

May absently nodded. The next ledge they had to take, Cal went first again, then May dropped down her backpack to him, then she jumped down as well. It worked rather slowly, but she did not fall over at least.

After the fourth jump, the sight of Littleroot Town in the distance greeted them. Cal released Lira, and then asked lightly, "We running there, or just taking it easy?"

May shrugged, saying lightly, "We'll walk. No reason to run, Professor Birch will be there."

The three of them (pokemon included) pushed through some long grass, and then arrived in Littleroot Town. It was a small place, with just some houses, one local store for foodstuffs, and the laboratory that was much larger than the other buildings. The two exchanged a look of 'wow, small town', and then walked toward, then inside the lab. May looked around the building, and caught the arm of a passing aid that was reading a notebook and walking at the same time. "Have you seen professor Birch? We were supposed to meet him today…"

The aid said quickly, "He's been out studying pokemon again, and hasn't contacted us. Last I heard, he was somewhere between Cherrygrove and here, so try there." He then freed himself from May's grasp, and went back to his reading, walking to a different part of the lab. May made a face and turned to Cal. "Well, we didn't see him…"

Cal looked toward Lira, who had a grin on her face. She smirked, and then calmly walked out of the lab, her nose turned to the ground as she followed a scent trail.

Cal looked out of the corner of his eye toward May, then said innocently, "Benefits of having a Houndour for a friend, I suppose…"

May shook her head in amazement, and followed Lira, Cal walking behind her, whistling a fast-tempo song she did not recognize.

&&&&&

Lira suddenly howled, and rushed forward. The two teens caught up with her as she stopped before a tree that had a rather angry-looking Poochyena barking up it. May looked up the tree, and then asked incredulously, "Professor Birch?"

Cal, on the other hand, focused on the Poochyena. "Lira, you want to deal with it?"

Lira nodded, and ran forward, spraying the Poochyena with embers. The puppy-like pokemon turned to the Houndour, and growled, before rushing in with a Tackle attack. Lira remained motionless as it charged, then dropped and rolled on her side, spraying the Poochyena with more embers as it flew by her, missing thanks to her sudden dodge. The dark pokemon recovered, and then turned, ramming the Houndour. Snarling, Lira fired a last Ember attack at point blank range. The Poochyena yipped, then ran away howling. May walked up to the two, professor Birch beside her. The professor smiled, saying, "That was quite a nice fight, young man. You wouldn't be the Caleryn I heard about, would you?"

Cal nodded quietly. "Yeah, I'm him. And Lira's the Houndour who I brought in to the center." The Houndour walked up to him, and stood by his side, not sure if she could trust Birch or not, her ragged ear twitching. Birch peered at her, and then nodded. "Alright… I should have expected that the two of you would show up together. If you'll just come with me to the lab, we can get things going."

The two teens nodded, and trailed after the professor as he jogged back to Littleroot Town, choosing to walk instead of run after him. Lira grumbled softly, but lightened up when Cal said in a whisper, "Don't worry, you won't be forgotten or overlooked. I only intend to catch five pokemon, not including yourself… maybe it'll be four, who knows?"

&&&&&

May looked from one pokeball to the next. "Uh…" The three Hoenn starters were laid out before her, and her previous decision to pick had disappeared, she didn't know which pokemon to take now. Professor Birch was typing away merrily at his computer, working on their Trainer registration, while Cal stood off to the side, Lira beside him.

Birch called out, "Cal, what's your last name?"

Cal smiled slightly. "I don't have one." Birch stopped, and slowly looked at the teen, who shrugged apologetically. "I don't have a family or money either, only reason I'm alive is because of May and a nurse."

May flushed slightly, staring intently at the pokeballs, as if she'd get some divine revelation soon if she stared long enough. Birch, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. "You know, there have been a few cases in the past of people like you. Sometimes they know a great deal about pokemon, sometimes none at all, but they always have amnesia about certain things, like their homes or families. I don't suppose you…"

Cal slowly smiled. "Yeah, I remember some things… but not a lot… and I don't want to talk about it." Actually, he was lying – he could remember everything, but he really didn't want to talk about it.

Birch's face twisted for a second, then he gave Cal an apologetic look, as he turned back to the system. "I'll put it down as not available for now, and if you remember certain bits of information, you can always fill it out later. I'll make a note to the Pokemon League that you're another amnesia case as well…" he trailed off, looking thoughtful, before adding, "And since you're already here, you can take a starter pokemon. The next batch of trainers to be won't be around for a few months, and I've got an excess of starter pokemon looking for a trainer."

Lira looked worried, then relaxed again as Cal looked toward her. She said apologetically, "Houndour, hound hound." Cal merely blinked, then smiled, getting the gist of what she intended.

May, frustrated, finally asked, "Cal, can you give me a hand?"

Cal walked up, and said, "Sure. What's up?"

May gestured to the pokeballs, and Cal arched an eyebrow, before slightly grinning. "Mind if I try to help?"

At May's nod, he asked her, "What do you want, a balanced team, a team that is good for contests but not so great at battling, or a team that specializes in one type?"

May curiously blinked, and responded, "Uh… I guess a balanced team, maybe a bit good at contests, but I've never liked those things that much."

Cal nodded, and continued, "And would you rather have dual-types, which potentially add more weaknesses into your team, but give it further variability and the capacity to deal with more pokemon types, or more single-types, who can take more abuse?"

May remained silent, while Birch stopped typing, listening in with one ear. He'd heard of some other professors helping the young trainers (May was actually older than the minimum age, but her reasoning for waiting seemed to be logical), and he wanted to see how well it would work. May wasn't the first to suddenly change her mind just as she was about to choose, but he lacked the skills to advise kids like Oak reportedly did.

Finally, May said, "I think I'd like a balanced team. A mix of flexibility and strength.."

Cal nodded again, then looked off into the distance. "And do you mind having a rough time with the gym leaders? Torchic, for example, would be weak against Roxanne, unless it evolves, then it's an even matchup of weakness against weakness…"

May nodded silently, knowing that he was going to continue. Cal finally asked, "If you could have your own pokemon team, disregarding difficulties, but not including legendary pokemon… what would it be? Include your starter in the mix."

May blinked. "Legendary pokemon?"

Cal smiled slightly. "The three Regis, Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Deoxys, the Lati siblings and Jirachi. And the other legends that aren't in Hoenn…"

Professor Birch blinked, and spun his chair around, staring at Cal. "I've never heard of some of those pokemon…" Cal made a small motion, and Birch fell silent, realizing that he'd explain later… the teen apparently knew a great deal about the world that even the professor didn't know, but he was setting his priorities in helping May out.

May finally ventured, "A Flygon, Manectric …" She trailed off, then reached for the Torchic's ball, and took it in her hand. "I'll take Torchic."

Cal smiled at her, then palmed Treecko's ball about five seconds later. Birch wasn't even surprised that he had already made up his mind, it was obvious that he wouldn't want Torchic if he had a serviceable fire type already, so it had been between a grass and water type. Cal then grinned at May, and said to the professor apologetically, "Well, I'm not comfortable talking about the Hoenn legends, what with the Teams possibly finding out about me… so understand, what I say will be limited. Go ahead and ask."

Birch remained quiet, and then said, "I have been hearing rumors about a strange pokemon that apparently can change its form. It is supposed to be red and an aqua color, and humanoid in appearance, but also varies in how it appears. Do you know anything about it?"

Cal sighed, and said, "Deoxys. I thought Rayquaza ran that thing off… it's a pokemon from space. I'd stay far away from that pokemon, if I was sane. It's not exactly known to be a kind thing. A few legends I've read cast it as a killer of worlds, the incarnation of death itself. I'm not sure about that, but that thing is creepy."

Birch winced. "I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

Cal shut his eyes. "Three forms… well, four, really. Attack, Defense, Speed, and neutral. Like they sound, each form gives it different attributes, with the name dictating what is the highest rated. Attack gives it a low defense, moderate speed, and an insane amount of attack. Defense makes it like a Blissy and Golem rolled into one. Speed makes it as fast as… well, a Jolteon, maybe faster. And the neutral gives it more defense than attack mode does, by cutting down on the attack values. That form is the most humanoid, by the way." Cal kept his eyes shut, and recited, "Rayquaza and it have had a few brawls. It came from space, Rayquaza hangs out nearly in space, you get the idea."

Birch nodded. "Is there…"

Cal shook his head, and abruptly stated, "Jirachi. What do you know about it?"

Birch slowly stated, "My son was the expert on that pokemon, not me, to be truthful. I heard my son mention that it can grant wishes, and usually hibernates… why do you ask?"

Cal gave him a twisted smile. "Because. I'm here, that's why. Your son must have found Jirachi… before I was knocked out, Jirachi appeared on a… device I was using, and said that it had granted a wish. Just as I blacked out, I saw someone about my age, five foot seven, white hair, with a penchant for red and black…" Birch gasped, and Cal continued, "Next thing I know, I'm in the middle of a clearing, and Lira nearby is growling at me."

Lira acquired a sheepish look, as she coughed embarrassedly. May was giving both Cal and her an inquisitive look, while Professor Birch had a saddened look. Finally, he said, "I believe I understand what he wanted. It's not well known, but my son is homosexual, that's why I send him out to help female trainers, they're safe with him… and you know the laws on homosexuality May."

May gulped. "Y… yeah. It's really unfair, and it doesn't make any sense…"

Cal looked like he'd been struck by lightning. "Now I get it… he wished to go to a place where he could be openly homosexual… though apparently I had to go here to balance things out or something…"

May looked toward him, and asked, "Your home was a place like that?"

Cal made a 'sort of' gesture. "I think so… well, I get a feeling, anyway. From what I can recall…"

Professor Birch looked away from Cal, his eyes wet. "He'll be happy there?"

Cal said softly, "I… yeah. I remember I cared a whole lot about the subject, even if I am heterosexual… I'm almost positive that things are a lot more civilized there. He'll be happy there."

Professor Birch stared at Cal, who had a dead-serious look to his face. He smiled faintly, saying, "Alternate reality… you're from an alternate universe, aren't you?"

Cal nodded. "Or from one heck of a far distance away, either's possible." In reality, he suspected the former, he just wanted to add in the latter, because he wasn't sure.

May stared at Cal like she was now looking at him in a different light. She had spent years in pokemon academy to learn more, but here was a guy who was from another world, who knew more about some pokemon than one of the world's leading experts on pokemon. And it seemed to her that he was keeping information from professor Birch, but he probably had a reason to do so… well, she hoped, anyway.

Professor Birch went digging through the piles of paper, and pulled out three red devices. He handed May a pokedex, then passed the other two devices to Cal. Cal looked curiously at the one device that was definitely not a pokedex. "A pokenav?"

Professor Birch nodded. "I respect your decision that you want to be a trainer, but I still would like to be able to contact you for information, just in case, you understand. Devon shipped me a few of these devices for my fieldwork, but I haven't been using them… now I can have a good use for them. And May can call her parents on the road."

May, excited by the prospect, grinned. Cal acquired a more worried look (even though now the pokenav was resting on his wrist), and said, "Professor, I'm not telling you anything else about the legendary pokemon, unless, for some reason, there's a need-to-know thing. The two teams might come here if they find out you know information about the two…" at Birch's confused look, he clarified, "Groudon and Kyogre… that they do not… Littleroot Town would not survive their attention. Don't ask me how I know that, I just do."  
Professor Birch nodded, looking worried as well. "I understand. I just wish there was a way that I could learn about them, since you obviously know something about them, without there being any chance of harm."

Cal said softly, "I wish there was." He started to tuck Treecko's pokeball into his pocket, when May noticed, and instead pulled out a belt, tossing it to him. He looked at it curiously, then smiled in her direction. "Alright, I owe you May. Sheesh. You got a mallet in there too?" At her confused look, he grinned and put on the belt, then clipped both the Treecko's and Lira's pokeball to it. Professor Birch again went digging through his piles of paper, and tossed each of them a small cloth bag that crumpled as the two of them caught the flying bags. "The League gives me a stipend to give to trainers who I feel are worthy… the two of you should be going far. Norman's girl, and…" Birch chuckled, and continued, "a young man with knowledge that even I don't have should get to the Elite at least."

May smirked, and tucked the pouch of money away, just as Cal did the same, putting it into one of the many pockets on his pants. Birch nodded, then said, "Alright, the two of you are registered, you've got your 'first pokemon'" Birch gave Cal a sly look at that, while May was reduced to laughing softly to herself, "and your ten pokeballs are waiting for you with one of my assistants. Get outta here before I loose my mind."

Lira snickered, and walked away. May and Cal followed her, taking the pokeballs from the professor's assistant as they did so.

Once they were outside, Cal asked May lightly, "Going back to see your school?"

May slowly nodded. "uh-huh. Eventually. First, mom is going to want me to stop by home again. It's kind of a shame you can't remember your family…" May flushed, remembering, and quickly gasped, "oh Mew… I'm so sorry…"

Cal said in a calm way, "Don't worry about it. I remember enough to know that I'll be happier here." He grew a slight smirk, and added softly, "I was a weirdo loner who never grew up."

May stared at him, and then shook her head. "Come on, let's get going. I keep on asking questions, I'll just get more and more of your evasive answers."

Cal started to shoot her a dirty look, and then grinned instead, Lira snickering beside him. "Gimme a moment, I want to talk to Treecko." He released his Treecko, then bent down as it turned, and studied him curiously, then Lira. May blinked, and released her own starter, talking quietly to the adorable chick pokemon.

Cal ignored her, and instead met the Treecko's eyes with his own. The two stared at each other for some time, though nowhere near as long as Cal and Lira had stared-down each other, before the Treecko nodded slightly, like it had decided something. Cal gained an interested expression, and asked curiously, "Do you have a name?"

Treecko shook its head, and hung it slightly. Cal, getting the idea, asked, "Mind if I come up with one, then? Something appropriate… Seth, maybe?"

The Treecko looked up at Cal, seemingly curious. Cal explained, "It's just a name, but if you learn leaf blade, then it could be a mutation of scythe…"

The Treecko gained a wicked grin, and nodded. Cal grinned in return, then looked out of the corner of his eye toward Lira, who had a slight smirk on her canine face. She growled something, and then deliberately looked at her tail, before shaking her head, then scratching at a specific place, and then nodding. Cal nodded silently, but May asked curiously, "What is she doing?"

"Seth's a guy, 's all she's saying. I never really had a talent at judging a pokemon's gender… and don't ask how I understood what she told me, I hardly understand it myself."

May shrugged, and motioned toward the path out of town, her Torchic returned to its pokeball. Cal followed her, returning Seth as he did so.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

A/N: Just to head off comments, there will not be pokemorphs in this story. She's from another story I'm working on. If you're curious, check my profile, she's mentioned in there.

Stupid1058: EAT TACOS!

Sandstone: (Growls, and starts building a nuke) I am going to keep you dead for more than fifteen minutes. I'm going to KILL YOU FOR GOOD!

A massive nuclear explosion blasts the landscape of the author's notes, leaving behind a scorched Sandstone and nothing else.

Sandstone: Hehe... he's dead...

Stupid1058's voice: must... continue... to... annoy...

Sandstone: (Facepalm, and takes out a bastard sword) Stupid, I'm going to impale you on Holy Light, and blast you with so many Greater Ruin and Hellballs that you WON'T COME BACK!

Elsewhere, a woman who was about to slay the lord of the eighth circle of hell swore as her weapon disappeared. Thankfully, her true love saved her by killing him with a spell. Wearily, she commented, "I hate it when he does that. Why can't he make more than one of those weapons..."

Final note: Geez, I didn't believe I failed to catch the New Bark Town / Littleroot error.


	5. Surprises of Battle

A/N: Geez, it's been awhile since my last update. In my defense, I did have midterms to study for, and a few… 'fun' medical discoveries. Like the fact that I can sleep for over twelve hours with no illness in my system, and that drawing blood makes me nearly pass out if it's any sizable amount. Anyway, this chapter will be followed by another, hopefully soon.

* * *

Surprises of battle

The two trainers were yawning as they sat within the pokemon center. May had caught a Seedot with ease, and she was punching away at her pokedex as she looked for how to best balance her team, while Cal was staring off into space, absently scratching Lira and rubbing Seth's tail, which the Treecko seemed to enjoy somewhat. Seth was mostly looking about curiously, while Lira was snoozing, occasionally growling in pleasure when Cal hit a good spot. Cal hadn't caught another pokemon, while some of the other new trainers (admittedly, they had been in the game longer) were showing off their already filled teams. Though they were almost always the same: Poochyena, starter pokemon, Taillow, Zigzagoon, Wurmple, and Seedot, with the occasional evolved form of Wurmple.

Cal yawned again, just as another trainer was bragging about how tough his Taillow was, and the trainer caught it. The ten-year old rounded on the teenager, and shouted, "I saw that! You think you're so tough? Let's go! One of your pokemon against my Taillow!"

Cal looked toward May, who gave him a 'I really don't care' shrug, as she went back to her pokedex. Cal looked down at Seth, who smirked, and nodded. Lira was still snoozing, she was out. "Alright, fine. Outside, and no serious injuries, I don't want the nurse to kill either of us."

The younger trainer nodded, his eyes narrowed, and stormed out. Cal yawned again, then picked up the still-snoozing Lira, Seth dashing ahead of him. The two left the center, while the nurse bit her lip, frowning. She was bound by the oath, but she believed that the training age should be raised by a few years, ten year olds did not have as much sense at teenagers did… even though they proved that they lacked sense as well. At least the older trainer had made sure to get the promise out of the younger one before he agreed; otherwise, she would be tempted to kill them.

&&&&&

Cal, still holding the sleeping Lira said lazily, "Seth's already out. Where's your Taillow?"

The flame-haired ten year old threw a pokeball, and the Taillow popped out, before jetting into the air. The younger trainer smirked, and said, "Don't even bother; your pokemon is already done for. Taillow, get down and peck it!"

The Taillow rushed down in a dive, a peck attack ready. Seth started to retaliate with a Pound, but Cal suddenly called out, "Seth, weaken it before going on the offensive. It's smart, and knows how to dodge."

Seth nodded, giving a Leer aimed at the Taillow as it dived, then bounded out of the way. The Taillow, caught off guard, plowed into the ground beside the Treecko, who happily nailed it with his large tail, a direct Pound attack. The Taillow, angry, flew up and then pecked Seth.

The Treecko didn't seem pleased to take a super-effective attack. It glared at the bird, and took on a verdant green aura. Bursts of energy fled out of the Taillow, and into the Treecko, who seemed to heal from the attack.

Cal pointed his pokedex at Seth, and the device chimed, saying, "Giga Drain. Power: 60. Restores half of damage inflicted. Grass type move."

The Taillow was in a lot worse shape. The younger trainer, mad, called out, "Alright Taillow, go for a Wing Attack!"

Taillow swooped in, aiming for Seth. Cal called out, "Seth, Leer it, then meet it with pound!" Seth nodded slightly, and Leered at the Taillow angrily, then met it in midair, slamming it with Pound.

The two crashed to the ground. Seth picked himself up slowly, but the Taillow only could struggle for a few moments, before collapsing, passed out. The younger trainer looked shocked at the result, and returned his pokemon, glaring at Cal like it was his fault he lost. Well, it was… though it was more Seth's fault.

Cal scratched at Lira, who was still held within his arms and sleeping, and then said lightly, "I think that settles that. Shesh, I yawned because I was tired from walking all day, nothing personal." He shrugged, and then looked toward Seth, who was starting to shake from weariness. He bent down, deposited Lira carefully, and softly asked, "Seth, are you ok?"

The Treecko looked at him, and shook his head slowly. He collapsed onto all fours, panting. Cal returned him to his pokeball, a thoughtful look on his face. "Fighting off a flying type… poor guy, he must be tuckered out… though Giga Drain… I guess he inherited it from his parents…" He started to pick up Lira, then found that she was already awake enough to stand, and was currently growling at a trainer who was walking into the center, a Mightyena by her side.

The Mightyena looked confused by Lira's hostility, while the trainer, who was obviously more skilled then the other trainers were, looked curiously at the Houndour, before saying something softly to her pokemon, and it relaxed as it trailed her inside. Cal, still bent down, said softly, "Lira, was it Mightyena-wielding trainers who hurt you?"

At Lira's growl, Cal added, "Did they have hoods, and wear red?"

Again, she growled, and looked toward him, as if expecting him to tell her who those people were. Cal looked distant, and then sighed. "Congrats. That was Team Magma. You faced one of their grunts, remember?"

Lira blinked, and then stiffly walked toward the pokemon center. Cal trailed her, as she walked up (more like stormed up) to the female trainer, and started to sniff her. The girl looked from the Houndour to Cal, and asked him, "What's with your Houndour?"  
Cal said darkly, "Team Magma injured her recently with Mightyena. She didn't know the humans, so she hates the pokemon… or so I guess."

The female trainer blinked, and then her eyes sparked. "Oh… I get it." She looked down at Lira, who had stopped sniffing her, and said, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, but Blackfang has been with me since he was a pup. He's never even seen a Houndour before, and neither have I… and this is the first time I've even heard of Team Magma."

The Houndour gave her a studying look, and nodded, slowly turning and plodding back to Cal. The pokemon nurse, who had been dealing with a rather confused ten year old, called out, "Young man, does your Treecko need healing as well?"

Cal nodded politely toward the trainer, and responded, "Yeah. He took some conks to the head, and wore himself out taking out the Taillow."

The nurse took his pokeball, and placed it in the healing device, while she handed back the other trainer his pokeball. "Strange, usually Treecko would have lost that battle… yours must be either truly strong, or have a fierce will to win…" She took out Seth's ball, and handed him back to Cal. She then smiled, adding, "But I've never seen a Houndour in this area either, so I suppose it is a day for firsts."

Cal merely shook his head, a slight smile on his face as well. He clipped Seth's ball to his belt, then sat down next to May, who only nodded absently, then jotted down another note on a pad she'd produced. She looked up from her work, and blinked, before asking, "Oh, uh… Cal, what pokemon team do you want to put together?"

Cal smiled slightly. "Ideally?" He looked fondly down at Lira, and rubbed her neck, before saying, "Lira and Seth, evolved if they want, a Gardevoir, Salamence, Aggron… maybe… and a water type. Preferably Milotic."

May blinked slowly, and then shook her head. "Wow, you do plan ahead. That would take a while to train a team to that level of strength… but it is really balanced. Kinda scary, though…"

Cal merely smiled, and said softly, "Well Lira? Your opinion?"

Lira looked up lazily, and a grin crossed her face, and then she barked softly, nodding. Cal asked in response, "Was that about the team, or you evolving?" Lira blinked, and then nodded twice, before yawning, and curling up. May caught the yawn, and yawned herself. "Oh man, I'm tired… I'm glad that all the trainers here live here, they don't have a lot of spare rooms…"

Cal got up, and asked the nurse, "Are there rooms still available?"

The nurse looked at him questioningly, and nodded slowly. "Yes, there is one, but that's all… and your friend didn't book a room for herself. It might be a bit of a problem, because it is only intended for one… or maybe a couple…"

Cal looked at May, and then slowly nodded. "We'll work something out, somehow."

The nurse smiled mirthlessly, and handed him a key. Cal waved to May, and she picked up her stuff following him down the halls, until he found the right room (11D), and opened it.

May walked in first, and the first words out of her mouth were, "What the… there's only one bed!"

Cal peeked in, and sighed. "Yeah. Nurse ran out of rooms, and since you didn't get one… eh, I'll sleep on the floor or something."

May sighed, and turned to look at Cal, before unpacking her camp bed. "No, I'll take the floor. I should've gotten a room earlier, it's my fault we have this tiny room, not yours. Besides, I kinda don't want you to sleep in…" she looked lovingly at the green thing, continuing to unroll it.

Cal sighed, and rubbed the back of his head. He should probably argue with her, but he knew that it would be a bad idea. He finally asked, "You sure?"

May looked up at him, an angry expression flashing across her face, before she nodded, her eyes narrowed. Cal merely sighed again, and carefully stepped around her work, before sitting on the bed, then laying down on it. Technically, there was enough room for two people, but it would make a tight squeeze… May would kill him if he even suggested it.

Lira jumped up onto the bed with a happy growl, and curled up, snoozing happily after a few moments. May, looking up from her work, stared at the Houndour, and then at Cal. "Uh… do you even have any other clothes?"

Cal shook his head slowly. "Nope."

May suddenly developed a massive smirk. "Tomorrow, you are coming shopping with me for some clothing. And when I get home… you are loosing that orange and black outfit."

Cal sighed, and shook his head. "No. It reflects my personality, and it throws people off. If I hadn't looked like I did, you wouldn't have been able to slip through that crowd, they wouldn't have bought the act. I'll play toy for your outfit shopping, but I keep this look."

May sighed, and turned her back to him, apparently deciding to sleep in her clothes. Cal shrugged, already comfortable. He yawned, and then turned over; falling asleep within a few minutes… he was tired, after all…


	6. You've GOT to be kidding me

A/N: Life sucks. School sucks. Thus the reason for no updates for so long.

Mentally drained author, signing out.

* * *

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Cal was awoken by Lira nudging him repeatedly. Yawning, he blearily looked about, and started to reach for a pair of glasses that in actuality still rested in his pocket, and were probably broken by now. He blinked, even as he strapped on the pokenav to his right wrist, then yawned again, remembering properly why he didn't need his glasses anymore. He stretched, and looked around the cramped room, then toward May's camp bed on the floor. The sleeping teenaged girl was smiling in her sleep, muttering happily, "Stop… stop it… stop teasing me!"

Cal looked at Lira, who grinned. She started to make toward the sleeping girl, but Cal grabbed her before she could move too far. "No way. No waking a sleeping girl having a good dream." The smile on his face was a bit twisted, though… he honestly had to wonder, from the huge grin on her face, what sort of dream she was having. Shaking his head, he suddenly rushed toward Lira, a grin on his face, as the Houndour jumped out of his way, growling at him, and attempting to knock him over by jumping at his chest, though instead he caught her, set her down, and whispered, "Outside."

The two walked out, leaving behind a smiling girl deep in sleep. Once they were outside, Cal looked toward the grass, and said, "C'mon, let's go find some Poochyena for you to beat up on."

Lira looked up at him, and smirked, racing eagerly toward the edge of town. The two found a Poochyena that immediately growled at the two, and launched itself at Lira, who dove out of the way, and hit it with a powerful stream of embers. The Poochyena, taken by surprise by Lira's sudden attack, yipped, then growled at her, rushing to bite her. Cal blinked, and carefully slipped out his pokedex, aiming it at the Poochyena. It wasn't that high leveled, but the 'dex did indicate that Lira had a level advantage. Oddly, it didn't state what level the pokemon were… apparently, the makers didn't feel that the pokemon trainers needed the exact level, or something like that.

Lira dodged the bite, but gained an interested look on her face. She growled something at the Poochyena that made the small pokemon howl, and rush recklessly at her, fangs ready to bite at her. The Houndour again evaded the blow, taking a small bite on her leg, but she shook it off, the interested look on her face still remaining. Cal arched an eyebrow at the Houndour's actions, before mouthing 'oh…'

Lira took two more Bite attacks, before she retaliated, strangely enough, with Bite in return. Though Cal didn't know precisely why, he suspected that she knew how to use a bite, but not Bite (as in using her Dark energies to damage the foe).

The Poochyena evaded the blow, but didn't dodge the series of embers that Lira hit it with. It whimpered, then ran away howling.

Lira, a smirk on her face, turned to Cal, who smiled, and then shook his head. "Lira, were you taking those Bites just so you could learn how to harness your own dark energies?"

Lira's smirk widened, and she nodded, growling happily, before walking up to him, and then wincing as she put weight on her front right leg. Cal noticed, and quickly pulled out her pokeball, returning her. He made to leave, but a ten year old with a Taillow resting on his shoulder, and a strange-looking baseball cap walked up to the older trainer, and said, "I heard your Treecko's a tough fighter… I want a battle."

Cal shrugged, then released Seth. "Sure. But no Taillow, I'm a bit sick of fighting off pokemon with advantages."

The blond ten year old shrugged, then with a deliberate flare, pulled out a pokeball, and shouted, "Zigzagoon, I…"

Seth glared, and crossed his arms, crying in an annoyed tone, "Tree Treecko!"

Cal chuckled at the shocked expression on his face, before saying, "Uh… I think he said something along the lines of, 'stop showing off, and get your pokemon out'."

Seth turned and gave Cal a speculative look, before nodding. With a glare at the Treecko, the blond released his Zigzagoon. Seth set himself, and then the Zigzagoon rushed forward in a reckless Tackle attack. The younger trainer shouted, "Zigzagoon, I didn't order that attack!"

The Zigzagoon ignored the shout, and continued to rush toward Seth. Seth blinked once, then produced a Leer attack, the Zigzagoon slowing before it hit him and went flying back, landing on all fours. Seth shook his head, then growled, and launched a… Leech Seed straight at the Zigzagoon, which connected, and sprouted a plant that started to sap the Zigzagoon's health.

The younger trainer had an angry expression on his face, as he shouted, "That's cheating! No Treecko can learn Leech Seed!"

Cal blinked, while Seth, gaining strength from the Leech seed, chuckled. Cal said dryly, "I'd guess Seth's father was from the Venusaur evolution line, because Treecko can certainly learn the move… it's called egg moves. Seth, why don't you finish this up with Giga Drain?"

Seth nodded, and took on the verdant green aura again, and energy exploded out of Zigzagoon, flying into the Treecko. Seth absorbed the energy, looking fully recovered from the fight… while the Zigzagoon was passed out.

Seth crossed his arms, and nearly strutted back to Cal, a grin on his face, which Cal returned. The younger trainer, biting his lip to keep from shouting, returned his Zigzagoon, and raced off. Cal took out Seth's pokeball, and returned him after a few moments, before walking back to town, a thoughtful look on his face. He'd wondered if he could teach pokemon attacks that were not listed, but rather unique abilities (like, for example, a Houndoom using a combined fire and dark attack – a darkness fire blast, or something)… maybe he could… His mind dancing with new possible ideas, he continued to walk toward the center.

&&&&&

"What took you so long?!"

Cal merely looked at May curiously, before walking to the nurse, and wordlessly handing her both his pokeballs. He then looked at her, and said, "You were asleep, and it looked like it was a good dream. So I figured I'd let you sleep. I just went out with Lira to do some training, but got challenged because Seth's making a reputation for himself."

May blinked, then acquired an evil look. "You're still going shopping with me."

Cal sighed, and gained a mournful expression, before saying, "I am so teaching Lira a way to use Faint Attack as an alternate teleport when I can… maybe that Shadow-flame attack too…"

May blinked, and asked, "Shadow-flame? Making up moves is really… well, Roxanne said that teaching a pokemon a non-standard move can take up to a decade."

Cal grinned slightly. "Yeah. But Lira learned Bite just by watching a Poochyena try to use it on her. I'm going to work with her to improve her dark and fire abilities, then show her that she can combine the two. Imagine a dark-type attack that doesn't have to get close to work… like a flamethrower, or a dark version of a Hyper Beam."

May shuddered at the thought, before looking thoughtful herself. "Uh… sounds sort of useful, now that I think about it… but still, won't that take a lot of time?"

Cal shrugged. "Possibly. But Lira's shown a lot of intelligence, I wouldn't be surprised if she picks up on the idea quickly."

Their conversation had earned the two some stares, until Cal turned and glared at those staring. Normally, he looked… odd, but with a glare on his face, he looked very close to a homicidal lunatic, with all the reasons in the world to go crazy and stab a few people. May shuddered, then grabbed his arm, leading him outside. The moment they were, she scowled at him, and said, "Alright, let's get moving. I'm going shopping, and you're coming with. Keep that stupid look, but you're not keeping that eyesore orange color."

Cal gave her a mild glare (nothing on the death-glares he'd used previously), sighed, and rolled his eyes, before nodding, a frown on his face.

&&&&&

Cal sighed as May squealed with joy (literally), diving happily into a female products store. Rather than even bothering to complain, he turned, and walked to the pokemon center. The nurse smiled at him, then produced his pokeballs from underneath the desk, handing them to him. "They're all healed. Your Houndour has been showing rather odd signs of control over her abilities at her level, however, as is your Treecko."

Cal shrugged, saying softly, "Is it normal for a pokemon to learn an attack just from watching a foe use it on them?"

The nurse shook her head slowly, and Cal weakly grinned. "There's your answer about her odd control, she learned a dark type attack from just watching it. And Seth… well, I think his parents are to blame for his control, but he's got some skills of his own." Clipping the balls to his belt, he walked out, and back in front of the store, tiredly sitting on a bench that was nearby. For May being 'determined' to get him a new outfit, she seemed more interested in shopping for herself. Shaking his head, he maximized Lira's pokeball, and opened it, releasing the Houndour, who yawned, and then jumped up onto the bench. Cal grinned, and asked, "You heard all that, didn't you?"

Lira merely snorted, which was all the answer he needed. May walked out of the store, carrying another bag (she was up to two now), and then looked around, before spotting Cal and Lira sitting on the bench. She waved, then walked over, humming happily. "Hey, got your pokemon healed up?"

Lira looked at the bags, then sniffed at them curiously. Cal looked into one bag, then determinedly looked away. "Pink. Evil!"

May smirked, and grabbed his arm. "Time for shopping!"

&&&&&

About two hours later, Cal sighed, as May continued to look through the piles of clothes. "Give it up May. You're not getting me in those, or anything even remotely tight-fitting. I like being comfortable, and that means baggy pants, with plenty of pockets for toys." Lira had been returned to her pokeball, sadly, he couldn't let her into the store, apparently she could accidentally start a fire (Cal suspected that the rule was mostly for fire-types with visible flames, like the Char species, but he couldn't argue). Seth had expressed a dislike for the mall, so he was staying in his pokeball as well.

May turned, her hands holding a pair of dark blue jeans, biting her lip. "But really… I mean, those clothes don't make you look good at all. If you had a pair of decent pants, it wouldn't look like you weighed a hundred more pounds than you do."

Cal rolled his eyes tiredly. "That's the point. I'm not getting involved in romance, period. It's just too much of a strain. Maybe when I find a reason to care, I'll start to care, but for now, I'm going to keep on looking like I always have."

May sighed, and shook her head dejectedly. Cal merely shifted the bag on his back, and went to the front, a few changes of clothes in his hands, all of them that May hadn't liked for some reason or another. They weren't things she had literally sworn to burn if he bought, but even the jeans he'd picked she didn't like, for some reason.

May had spent some of her funds, and Cal was running uncomfortably low, he'd had to outfit himself with everything a trainer needed, and some of the supplies didn't come cheap.

The self-proclaimed 'princess of shopping' kept a mildly exhausted look on her face, as Cal walked beside her, leaving the small town. It didn't help that he was whistling a song, a grin on his face, while Lira occasionally added in eerie howl. Sighing, she cut off Cal, asking, "Can I borrow your poke-nav? It's got a radio in it, and if the two of you keep that up, I'm going to need it."

Cal and Lira exchanged a long look that May couldn't read at all, before he shrugged, removed it from his wrist, and handed it carefully to her. May, already practiced with the device, pressed a few keys. Earphones popped out from a previously hidden compartment, and she put them in her ears, strapping the nav to her wrist as she did so. Lira looked at the sky, then howled hauntingly again, making Cal grin as he continued his high-tempo whistling. Apparently, the two of them had similar tastes in music, much to May's displeasure.

May set the volume to near-numbing levels, and let the bliss that was the pokemon pop station take over. Though she did fight a Tailow and a few other pokemon. Cal and Lira were too preoccupied in trying to annoy her to do their own training.

&&&&&

May grinned, as she returned her Torchic. Her challenger, a bug tamer, shrugged, and handed her a small amount of money. "I guess bugs really do have a weakness after all. Are the two of you siblings or something?"

May looked at Cal, who was sitting on a rock, watching quietly, Lira and Seth beside him. He shot her a smirk, but remained silent, while May sighed. "No, we're not related. Why'd you ask?"

The tamer grinned. "Because, you both have fire types. Plus, from the way you two act, it seems like you're siblings. Though I shouldn't have underestimated either of you like that… guess I shouldn't judge by appearance."

Cal chuckled from his point, making both trainers look at him. "I know of a dragon that could scare you almost as bad as seeing a Tyranitar in a really bad mood… and something cute like a Snorunt can deal major damage to it. It's all a mater of type, strength, and strategy. An unevolved pokemon could utterly destroy an evolved one, even one of its own evolutions. Or a cute little Chikorita or Seth here could decimate a Swampert, you get the idea." Seth smirked at that prospect, looking jubilant at the thought of him beating a fully evolved pokemon. Cal put the pokedex that he had been fiddling with into his bag, then stretched, standing slowly, and staggering, before shaking himself. May took the opportunity to add, "Don't mind him, I've been traveling with him for days, and I haven't even managed to get where he used to live."

The bug catcher grinned at her, saying, "Nice to meet ya, May. I'll see you on TV", before jogging off into the deep grass beyond the trail. May looked over at Cal, a confused expression on her face. "TV? What's he talking… oh."

Cal shrugged, and looked at both Seth and Lira. They had been walking beside him since he'd given up on annoying May (she still had his pokenav). May didn't put in the earphones though, she looked toward Cal, and asked, "Hey, why are they out like that, anyway?"

Seth looked curiously up at Cal as well. The teenaged trainer took a few seconds, before saying, "It's something of a training trick. Take two pokemon of equal level, but one's been trained by walking around with his or her trainer, if at all possible. Which one has the higher endurance?"

May blinked, then grinned. "I gotta try that. Torchic won't be able to do that herself unless she evolves, but it makes sense, and neither can Seedot. Sheesh, I'm glad I ran into you, Roxanne never even mentioned the idea, and Dad doesn't travel far, so he wouldn't have a reason to think of that…"

Cal merely shrugged. "Feel free. It might be a good idea if we battle regularly too, so long as the pokemon agree. Great way to help them get even stronger is to practice against each other." May gained a distant look in her eyes, thinking about her planned team, and who could walk around like Cal was doing for endurance training.


	7. Fame's Price

Fame's price – aka horrors of dating someone famed 

May bit her lip, as she looked at the city before her. True, she did want to go home, but she knew she'd be mobbed if it was revealed who she was. Even Cal and Lira's tricks, as powerful as they were, couldn't handle a full-blown groupie mob…

Cal, as if he'd been reading her mind, remained silent, lightly rubbing Lira's neck, standing beside the furiously thinking female trainer. May eventually sighed, and said, "Cal… uh, do you mind if we play boyfriend girlfriend? We might get overlooked, no one would think I'm the type to even get a…" May flushed, but finished, saying, "Well, a boyfriend."

Cal merely shrugged. "Eh, you're not the only one. Never had a girlfriend myself either. So how you want to portray it? Holding hands, glued together at the hip…"

May blinked, then said weakly, "Uh, hold hands. Nothing personal, but I don't think you're my type."

Cal merely grinned, saying, "You'd know that how? Never been on a date, have you?" May blushed, but shot back, "And neither have you, for all your supposed 'amnesia'…"

Cal kept on grinning. "Amnesia? Never had it before. I did get wasted that one time, but that was because of that damned sedative… May, here's a little surprise for you, I remember every little detail of my past life. I just couldn't tell Birch, and I didn't want you to tell him that."

May stared at him, then sighed. "I'm not even surprised. You always drop bombshells at weird times." She grabbed his hand, then shook her head. "Let's just get to my house. We can talk in my room… and I don't mean anything sexual with that!"

Lira coughed, making smoke rise because she'd shot out embers, while Seth had a bemused expression on his face. "Tree, tree… Treecko Treecko!" Lira coughed again at what he'd said, and gave him a confused look, before scowling, and chasing after the bemused Treecko, while the two humans walked into town.

&&&&&

Cal was bemused to note that May's idea to not get mobbed had worked. She'd removed her headband, and let her hair down. Without it on, she looked a lot more mature, especially since her eyes had gained a cool confidence. Some people did look at the two of them, but she seemed to not care, only sending glares at them if they started to ask if she was May, Norman's girl.

She led him (and the two pokemon, who didn't get that many second looks) to the gym, and walked inside. A brown haired man was busy cleaning up the area, and looked over at the two, before calling, "If you're here for a match, come back in a half hour, the gym needs to be repaired from the last challenger." He looked away, and went back to work.

May smirked (Cal noted that her smirk was rather victorious, so she must have been worried he would recognize her), and then Cal realized she hadn't let go of his hand, despite the fact they didn't need the act anymore. He said softly, "Uh, May… hand?"

May quickly dropped his hand, a small flush on her cheeks. She shook it off, and said, "Hi dad."

Norman looked over, and looked May and Cal over, leaving behind his work. May had crossed her arms, and was leaning against the wall, a slight smirk on her face still. Norman was nearly right beside her, when he blinked, and said softly, "May? You seem… a lot different."

May merely looked at her father, and shrugged. "I'm not a little girl anymore, Dad. I can take care of myself, and I'm already planning ahead."

Norman looked over at Cal, who had crouched, and was lightly rubbing Lira, who was soaking up the attention. Cal looked up, and said lightly, "Hey. No, I'm not dating her, if you want to ask. Just a ploy to get through the crowds that seem to worship you."

Norman made a face, but at May's chuckle, shook his head. "I really can't help it. All I am is a gym leader, albeit a good one…" He held out his hand, as Cal stood, and the two shook hands. "Norman."

"Cal no-last-name."

Norman snorted, then shook his head. "Are you training your pokemon by leaving them out like that, or do they reject pokeballs?" There were a few tales about trainers who had either case – some left their pokemon out on purpose while they traveled – some argued that being outside a pokeball was more humane, others for endurance training, especially considering that walking for days like trainers helped the pokemon build up a greater energy reserve to draw on. But there were also cases where a pokemon hated being inside a pokeball, and rejected the devices, choosing to walk with their trainer.

Cal shook his head. "The former. It's not much, but they are getting stronger. It's not like May and myself can challenge each other right now, Lira has an advantage over her Torchic, who has an advantage over Seth."

Norman rounded on his daughter, who had a vague smile on her face as she looked at the gym, which had some cracks in the floor. "Wow Dad, you sure did some damage." Norman looked at the damage himself, then chuckled. "Want to give me a hand? Having a fire type would help set the concrete supports that got damaged… not that seriously, but still, they need patches."

Cal looked over to May, who had a scowl on her face. "Dad, stop it. It's boring to repair the gym, you're always wrecking it. Why do I need to help fix it? Get your pokemon to help you."

Norman chuckled, and followed his daughter's advice, as she walked into the living section of the gym, her companion trailing her, an amused expression on his face.

Just as his Vigoroth started to help him patch, Norman froze, and motioned for the pokemon to continue without him, as he went to the computer nearby, and read an email that had been sent recently. There was another 'amnesia trainer' case… but Birch had been noted in saying this one was a genius when it came to pokemon, though closemouthed. Norman thoughtfully looked at the screen, then sighed. Amnesia trainers weren't an epidemic, they actually were quite rare, maybe one every generation or so… but that 'once a generation' trainer was traveling with his daughter. And he knew his daughter well enough that she could very well do something completely by accident, and send the wrong message at the same time.

With a muted sigh, he ran a dusty hand through his hair. With May's more forceful personality (that was new, usually she was more mild-mannered, almost withdrawn sometimes), he believed it would be a bad idea to tell her to leave her companion. The two seemed to work well together, since Birch had mailed him about the teenager's skillful aid in helping May choose her pokemon when she changed her mind.

He just put it down to something being odd about him – he was normal enough, but didn't seem right somehow. Norman paused, and then mentally amended that is was the fact that he had confidence – every other amnesia case he'd heard of were at least a little unsure of themselves, but this 'Cal' didn't seem the least bit worried about his past, or his future.

&&&&&

Cal sat on the chair May had provided him, while she was stretched out on her bed. She finally started to move, after remaining still for about five minutes, saying, "Well?"

Cal arched an eyebrow, saying back, "Well what?"

May sighed, and it looked like she rolled her eyes. "Well, are you going to tell me anything about it, or do I have to question you?"

Cal chuckled, and looked around for a moment. The room was… somewhat typical. There were a few posters hanging, but they all were about either training, or top Elite trainers, like Glacia. No boy pictures, but from what he could figure, May didn't care too much about the subject. "Alright, I'll spill. I'm from an alternate reality or universe, whichever, just like Birch suggested. I just didn't want any attention, so I played dumb. And yeah, I kept all my memories, like I said before."

May smirked, and shook her head. "It was kind of obvious that you were. You're a bad liar, I think Birch knew as well. He's just too polite to say anything, I think."

Cal shrugged. "Or too distracted by just how much he learned about the 'unknown pokemon' Deoxys." Lira gave a growling laugh, while Seth just settled for looking puzzled.

May shrugged, and her attention obviously flagged, as she looked at one poster. Cal followed her gaze, and blinked, looking at the insect-like pokemon Celebi. May must have noticed, because she asked, "You know anything about that pokemon?"

Cal nodded slowly, and said, without turning, "Celebi, the time-traveling guardian of forests. Grass and psychic type. I've read that Celebi, Mew, and Jirachi have some sort of link, but it's pure theory. Anyway, there's only one Celebi per forested area, or it's possible there's only one Celebi altogether, though I think that there are more than one, just in different times." He paused, and then added, "There's monuments to Celebi in practically every forest, regardless of the region, so it, she, or he must have been more friendly to humans in times past. Team Rocket's expressed an interest in the guardian of time, but I really doubt they'll be too successful in capturing Celebi, she's too canny."

"She?"

Cal turned, and grinned. "What, expect me to call Celebi a guy? Frankly, I think that both Mew and Celebi are female, but I could be perfectly wrong about that."

May shrugged, and yawned widely. "Wow, I'm tired… uhm, any other legendaries you can tell me about? What about… oh… that one you called Deoxys? There any other info on that thing?"

Cal froze, and both Seth and Lira looked curiously at him. Slowly, he shook his head, loosing whatever problem had disturbed him. "I don't know much more. The crystal in its chest could be a second brain, or something else entirely, I have no idea about that for sure. It is a very… powerful pokemon, it even learns an attack similar to Overheat, but psychic in nature. I just don't know about it that much. Even Mewtwo… well… I'd rather meet Mewtwo than Deoxys."

May pulled out her pokedex, and started pressing keys rapidly. Cal just waited, scratching the two pokemon, until she said, "The pokedex doesn't have any information on Mew besides stuff that's obviously rumor… no Mewtwo listed… or that Deoxys. Or anything on Celebi, besides that it's supposedly the guardian of forests, and almost never seen."

Cal smiled slightly. "I'm not from here, remember? I have access to information that the researchers here don't."

May smiled, and said, "Well then, you would make one great professor!"

Cal sighed, and shook his head. "Not going to happen. The Legendary pokemon are that way for a reason. The less people know about 'em, the less they'll be tempted to try to capture them. I know the full extent of their power, and I have absolutely no desire to try to capture one of them, let alone challenge one of 'em. Being able to talk to Mew might be nice, though, or Jirachi…" He trailed off, and looked thoughtful. Seth and Lira, while he had talked about the legends, had looked worried, but with his declaration that he wasn't interested in challenging them, were relaxing again.

May shrugged. "I guess I agree with you. If they're that powerful, I don't think it would be a good idea to try to capture them, normal pokemon could get really hurt by one of them…"

A woman's voice came from beyond the door, saying, "May? Sweetie, can you leave your boyfriend for a moment, and talk to me?"

May turned bright red, stammering. Cal flushed as well, and remained still as the girl stormed out, looking like she was ready to do something stupid.

Cal lost the flushed look after she left, and sighed, smiling at his two pokemon. "Well, what do you two think?"

The two looked at each other, and exchanged grins.

&&&&&

Cal crossed his arms, and said lightly, "Norman frankly sucks. He's nothing on Brawley, or any other gym leader for the matter."

Those who had been arguing with him turned red, and their hands went to their pokeballs. Cal smiled, thanking Norman for that tip on how to piss off his worshipers, and said, "Seth, Lira, who's first?"

Lira stepped forward with a quiet growl, and with a snarl of joy, ducked the String Shot, then burned away the threads with an Ember. Cal smiled at her, then started calling out advice.


	8. Petalburg Adventures

A/N:

Sandstone maniacally cackles

Yes, I LIVE! Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thanks to all of you who added this to alerts / favs, I've restarted working on this fic again rather than putting it on hiatus due to Diamond and Pearl making some of the comments and attacks outdated.

Just as a note, this is set within the Fire Red / Leaf Green / Ruby / Sapphire / Emerald timespan, so the rules and attacks are from those games if you can't tell. Don't ask me about the Diamond / Pearl pokemon being involved because they won't be. That's a different story that I've been thinking about.

Finally... I don't own this (I know Fair Use policy means I don't have to use a disclaimer, but I felt like it), and flames will be used to toast marshmallows. Yay marshmallows! Sweet sugary goodness...

* * *

Petalburg adventures:

-----

May yawned and sleepily smiled as she stretched out in her own, really comfy, bed. Slowly, she got up and automatically went digging through her dresser for something to wear. After all, her mother (after embarrassing her like that) had insisted that she and Cal stay for awhile. May hadn't complained and Cal seemed to be interested in training with his pokemon. She chuckled when she remembered what he had said when he came back last night – "That was… amusing. Do you have any idea how insane those people are? A few remarks about how your father isn't a god, and I have a line of challengers ready to take on."

May kept on smiling – from what she remembered; today would be a lot of fun. She was going to go shopping (even if she did not intend to buy anything), and Cal WAS going to help her shopping. Even he couldn't weasel out of this.

&&&&&

Cal slowly woke up with a quiet yawn. May's family had been insistent that he use the spare bedroom instead of going to the pokemon center. He hadn't minded, actually. He'd even had a few words with Norman and when the gym leader had suggested he offer an insult about his name in order to get sparring partners he couldn't help it – he had laughed. Norman seemed to take their worship in good humor usually so it seemed he didn't mind Cal using that to get some training in.

He looked over at Lira and Seth; both of whom were snoozing on the bed. He smiled, looking at them – they just were… cute like that. Lira definitely looked like a puppy though when she was awake it was obvious that she was older than she seemed… and Seth was something almost akin to a teenager in mood swings. The two of them looked stronger than they had yesterday, and with good reason, they'd run the gauntlet of trainers Cal had made by offering a few choice insults toward Norman. In fact, he'd used one that Norman himself had given him; that had really caused all the challenges.

It had been worth it really. The two were a lot stronger and Lira had picked up a few sneaky moves that Cal was eager to help her develop. Seth had changed as well… he'd pulled off a Quick Attack and was definitely getting stronger. He'd even managed a move that he'd never seen before – he built up speed using Quick Attack, and then… blurred. It wasn't Quick Attack and definitely wasn't Extremespeed but something else. None of the other trainers had noticed barring him. And Seth, while in that blur-attack state could use physical attacks like crazy. It was like he was moving according to a different sense of time.

With another silent yawn, he sat up, and reached over to stroke both of them softly. The two smiled in their sleep but otherwise didn't react. The trainer let them sleep, instead slipping quietly out of the room, and downstairs.

Once he did so Norman greeted him with an arched eyebrow. "You were out late. I take it you used that line?"

Cal nodded, grinning. "Sure got a rise out of them. Thanks for that, it was good for those two to get that much training. Their trainers didn't think much on strategy; they just attacked blindly."

Norman shrugged. "It's battlefield psychology. When you insulted me, their hero, they lost themselves to rage and couldn't plan ahead. You, on the other hand, were calm and in control of yourself,so you could call out proper advice like a trainer is supposed to. I did hear something interesting about an attack your Treecko produced though… the nurse at the pokemon center mentioned that a lot of trainers were complaining about an 'unfair move' you'd taught him."

Cal shrugged. "I didn't do anything. Leech Seed and Giga drain are legal moves. Seth already knew them; he surprised me the first time. He did pull off a new trick… a mix of Quick Attack and something else to become a blur that attacks like crazy though…" Cal smiled sheepishly and added, "Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that he went for that long battling."

Norman chuckled. "They believe in themselves and they believe you're a good trainer. Pokemon tend to surprise people in situations like that. Though that's got to be one of the few times I've seen someone so relaxed about a pokemon breaking the theories of pokemon attacks…"

Cal shrugged again and then said weakly, "Ehhehe… uhm… I was sort of intending to teach them attacks that break that theory anyway, like a dark-flamethrower for Lira…"

Norman blinked and then slowly said, "Hmmm… you know, I read something that suggested that Dragonbreath was an adaptation of Flamethrower for dragon-type pokemon… I suppose you could be right and a Houndour or Houndoom would be the pokemon to teach that move to… do you mind if I speak to Professor Birch about that idea of yours?"

Cal produced his pokenav and then shrugged. "If you want. He's got my 'nav's number anyway so he can call anytime he wants."

Norman chuckled and went back to watching the TV program he had been before Cal walked down. His laughs about something on the news was loud enough that Cal in the other room (making a light breakfast for himself and May) could hear it without too much trouble.

&&&&&

Cal was munching on some of the scrambled eggs he'd put together when it sounded like someone was stomping their way down the stairs. Norman's voice sounded out but he couldn't hear what the gym leader was saying. May walked in with a big yawn and said sleepily, "Great, another early riser…"

Cal shrugged, and pointed to the plates he'd set out. "Self defense. When you have two sisters who fight every chance they get, you eat early, and then get out as soon as you can. And learn to cook somewhat well."

May nodded, and dumped a large amount of eggs onto her plate. "You didn't use that substitute crap my mom stocks did you?"

Cal shook his head. "No… I used the carton of eggs that was in the fridge. Had to make sure it was cool with your dad but he didn't care."

May snorted, and muttered none too softly, "Like he ever does care about stuff beyond pokemon…"

Cal laughed softly and kept on eating for a moment, then paused, and left the table, coming back after a few minutes with two pokeballs in his hand. He set them on the table and then went back to eating. May didn't seem pay attention because she was reading the comics from the newspaper until until she asked, "Lemme guess. Unlike you, they're sane and choose to sleep in?"

Cal stuck his tongue out at her and then chuckled. "Greeting the sun is fun! Pokemon do it, so why don't you?"

May muttered something Cal really didn't care to catch. From what it sounded like, it ran along the lines of, "Morning people should be murdered…"

With a muted chuckle, he went back to attacking his meal.

&&&&&

May had finally gotten out of her 'morning slump' and looked around for Cal but he had disappeared – so had her dad. She had a sinking feeling that the two of them were either battling or 'talking shop' as her father liked to call it – chatting about pokemon training. May did want to become a champion but she already knew her dad's stance on everything concerning training; she did not need to hear it again…

Finally, she walked into the gym and blinked. They were battling, but strangely, her father's Slakoth, which he only used in official matches, was out. And looking weak as well.

Cal was standing behind Lira who was looking tired but at the same time she seemed to be energized. Her dad seemed to be impressed with something as well. He ordered, "Slakoth, another Faint Attack!"

Cal called out quickly, "Lira, same thing."

Both pokemon disappeared which made May stare. Houndour didn't learn Faint Attack like that! It took them a lot of time to pick up that attack – either Lira was more powerful then she thought (which was not likely; the pokedex had ballparked her level to be about fifteen), or somehow, that Houndour was learning attacks that were used against her.

The two pokemon reappeared, but the Slakoth fell over, and didn't move. That wasn't unusual, except for the fact that it looked like it had passed out.

May looked in surprise at her father, who smiled at the sight. She then looked at Cal who was looking thoughtfully at Lira even as he scratched her behind the ears. "Uhm…"

Norman looked over at her. "Oh May… you're up. Good. Cal told me that… Lira here has been learning attacks that were used against her… have you heard of anything like it, at trainer's school?"

May slowly nodded. "Yeah. Roxanne mentioned it, but she said it was really hard for most pokemon to pick up attacks like that… just how long were you two doing that?"

Cal flushed slightly and said in a faint voice, "Uhm… only a few minutes. I asked Norman if he could have a pokemon show Lira Faint Attack and she picked it up quick… in less than three demonstrations. The battle is his fault." Cal looked over at Norman who had a grin on his face. May shook her head and sighed. "Dad, can you ever refuse a battle?"

Cal burst out laughing while Norman chuckled. May sighed, and walked over to the teenaged otherworld trainer then grabbed his arm. "Now you're going to be my cover while I go shopping, remember?"

Lira snickered from beside Cal and then returned into her pokeball before the trainer could say a word in response.

Cal sighed and looked toward Norman. "After your daughter has her wicked way with me, mind helping me teach her Flamethrower? Seth can't learn Earthquake yet and I don't think you've taught your pokemon Surf…"

Norman's look flickered from shocked, to rage, and then he dissolved in laughter. "Sure. If you survive, I'll have my Vigoroth spar with her. Just why are you trying to teach her moves in advance like this anyway?"

Cal smiled faintly and said simply, "I told May the general idea. A dark-based attack, that doesn't require physical contact. Like… say, a Hyper Beam composed of dark energies. Or a flamethrower that is enhanced by dark energies to deal more damage than the standard. I'll take either, really. Because it would give a dark type flexibility, rather than relying on things like ghost moves for distance attacks. But a more powerful fire attack earlier would be useful just on its own."

Norman said slowly, "Sidney would be really interested in something like that…"

May, annoyed at being stuck waiting, dragged the teenaged male trainer out of the room by his arm leaving her father blinking at the empty gym. He shook his head with a smile and then said to the empty air, "I really hope she doesn't end up killing him with her shopping."

&&&&&

Cal rubbed his ankle which had been bugging him for the last thirty minutes and then sighed softly. Thus far May hadn't bought very much; she just seemed to be determined to get herself 'a bunch of new outfits'. Not that he cared; it meant that he didn't have to play dress-up doll and half the time he could just hang out in the arcade or food court.

With a slight grin on his face he released Lira who looked about and growled slightly before she sat at 'guard position' in front of Cal. This mall was a mall frequently visited by pokemon trainers so they were perfectly fine with trainers releasing pokemon or having them with them. Magmar, and other pokemon with flames on them could not be released, as well as Muk or other toxic pokemon, but everyone saw the logic to that rule anyway.

Lira slowly looked up at Cal and said, "Dour, Houndour, Dour."

Cal smiled, saying softly to her, "Big, huh?"

Slowly, the Houndour nodded. Cal laughed and scratched at her ears, making the Houndour go cross-eyed. After about half a minute of that he stopped and said to her, "Lira, you want to explore? Seth doesn't like this place but you and I are good."

Lira nodded a smile on her face. Cal smiled back and then looked about warily, just in case May returned before he fled.

His luck wasn't with him, May had remembered about him. She walked up to him, an unholy glee in her eyes, and then dragged him bodily out of his seat, somehow ignoring the fact that the teenager weighed more than she did. The Houndour watched, and growled something that was better off not translated into human language.

&&&&&

Norman called out, "Slaking, finish this! Hyper Beam!"

His Slaking fired a massive beam of power out from its mouth, and the challenger's last pokemon, a Combusken, fell over, too exhausted to continue. The male trainer sighed, and returned his last pokemon. Norman smiled, returning his Slaking, and said, "You did well. I'd suggest training your team more."

Another voice, one Norman had heard before said consolingly, "I watched the last part. Slaking are very tough, it takes a lot to put one down, even if you have a type advantage. If your Combusken hadn't been so tired from taking on the Vigoroth, I think it would have won. Either work with your Combusken to increase its endurance, or work with your other pokemon so they're as strong as your Combusken."

Jim (the challenger) turned, as did Norman. Cal was leaning against the wall with Lira standing beside him. Unlike before, he was no longer dressed in a painfully bright orange shirt and baggy black pants but instead was dressed in a light blue shirt and a pair of jeans. Norman was amazed by the change – before, he had looked slightly deranged and now (probably thanks to May's magic) he looked like an experienced trainer and respectable. If Norman didn't know better he would have assumed that Cal had been training pokemon for some time now. Lira's tattered ear added to the image as well.

Jim said thoughtfully, "You know, I did focus on training Combusken so it was built enough to take on Norman… maybe if I trained my other pokemon up to Combusken's strength…"

Norman smiled, and added kindly, "You nearly had me during the battle. All your pokemon need is some additional training, and we'll have ourselves a lively rematch." Jim nodded and smiled, his depression that Norman could vaguely tell the trainer was feeling fading away. The trainer nodded and then called out as he left, "Thanks!"

Norman smiled at Cal and said brightly, "May's magic worked wonders on you, I see."

Cal laughed and Lira made sounds that made it clear that she was laughing as well. Cal shook his head and grinned faintly. "Yeah, she had fun torturing me for a few hours."

May walked into the room as he said that and snorted. Muttering "Men" like it explained everything she walked off into the living quarters part of the gym. Cal shook his head and then looked over at Norman. "Your pokemon up for some more training?"

Norman grinned. Cal's training methods were odd (as was Cal himself at times) but he enjoyed working with the teenaged trainer even if he was an amnesia case. "Alright. Vigoroth, let's get going!"

He released his Vigoroth and Lira stepped forward. Norman looked over at Cal and asked, "What pokemon ability does she have?"

Cal looked over at Lira, and smiled slightly. "The nurse told me it was Flash Fire. So don't hold back, she can absorb the flames without a problem."

Norman nodded and called, "Alright Vigoroth, we're trying to demonstrate Flamethrower. Don't hold back, but only use that attack."

The Vigoroth seemed a bit taken aback by the order but attacked anyway. It fired a Flamethrower that caused the air to shimmer from the heat, but Lira simply stood in the attack; watching intently. Norman was curious as well – he'd never witnessed such a phenomena which was why he was helping. If Lira could learn attacks just by watching and at that speed the odds were likely that the little Houndour was either incredibly intelligent, or possessed a rare trait he'd heard theories of from professor Birch, but had supposedly never been confirmed… either way, it was going to be interesting. Besides, it was in his interest to help Cal since he was traveling with May.

&&&&&

Later in the day, May was sitting in the 'backyard' of the gym, stretched out on the ground and soaking up the sun. It wasn't strong enough to really give her a sunburn but it was warming.

She smiled absently, remembering the fun she'd had at the mall. Cal-torture, as she was starting to nickname it was quite amusing. For all the fact that he was supposedly from another dimension or reality or something, he still followed the typical male aversion to shopping. He hadn't said a word of complaint but she knew from the look on his face that he had hated being in the mall for that long.

She looked down at her Torchic and stroked it softly. The chick pokemon, which had been dozing beside her, let out a quiet, "chik… tor…", and then apparently went deeper into sleep. May continued to softly stroke it, delighting in the feeling of the pokemon's soft feathers against her fingers. Her Seedot was off resting by a tree; apparently, it liked to sleep a lot.

About an hour later she yawned, looking up at the sun. It looked to be about dinnertime…

Cal walked out and said, "Your mom said dinner's ready. Apparently I'm invited…"

May quietly laughed. "She's like that. Any friend I had, she'd feed obscene amounts of food to if it was anytime close to a meal time."

Cal shrugged, "You really ought to train with your father. He could help your Torchic learn Flamethrower… it'll be useful later on, May."

May sighed and yawned again. "Alright, alright, I get the picture Cal. I'll start training tomorrow."

Cal shook his head with a slight grin. "If you want, I can train you on the road. Lira's picked up Flamethrower with a vengeance and when your Seedot evolves I can help teach it Faint Attack. And Seth can always teach it Giga Drain…"

May blinked and stared at him. First was the fact that he wasn't from her universe and now Lira was learning attacks by just getting hit with them… it seemed like he attracted odd happenings. Or she did, since he was traveling with him. She shook off her line of thought and mused aloud, "Huh… well, sure. Torchic could use a more powerful attack…" Torchic interrupted with an outraged "Tor!", and glared at May, before sticking her beak upward. May looked at her pokemon and then slowly shook her head. "Uhm… sorry, Torchic. I didn't mean to be rude, but we can't win battles with just Ember attacks… Flamethrower is much more powerful so you can beat tougher foes. Lira learned it…" May looked around and then at Cal. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

Cal blinked and then shrugged. "Taking a nap. She wore herself out fighting with your dad's Vigoroth. The nurse healed her, but Lira still needs a nap to regain her energy." He chuckled and added, "That Houndour… she's as crazy as I am, just in a different way… probably why we get along so well."

Seth looking put out added loudly, "Tree! Treecko!" Cal looked over at him, and grinned saying, "You want to be called crazy?" Seth slowly looked at his trainer, and then shook his head with a smile. "Treecko…"

Torchic came out of her snit, laughing. May picked up the chick pokemon who seemed barely able to stand, and nodded toward the door while the Torchic was still laughing as she was nestled within Mays arms. She walked inside though she freed one hand to return the sleeping Seedot. Cal and Seth exchanged an amused grin and then walked in after her. It was time to find out if the 'obscene amount of food' rumor was true.

&&&&&

Cal pushed away his plate just as May's mother made to serve him again. Very slowly, he shook his head clearly, which earned him shocked looks from the female residents. Cal said with a slight grin, "I know how much I can eat… now if I wanted to overeat; I'd pass out like Norman is about to…"

Three pairs of eyes drifted to the gym leader who, as Cal had mentioned, was drifting off completely unaware of his surroundings. The quiet snorts of laughter did not awaken him nor did his daughter's hand waving in front of his face.

May sighed and shook her head. "He always does this. We'll just dump him on the couch and let him sleep…" At Cal's questioning look May grinned wickedly adding, "Family ritual. First person to pass out and make themselves an inconvenience for everyone gets to sleep on the lumpy sofa."

Cal shrugged and stood, gathering the plates and utensils, saying softly, "You two enjoy yourselves; I'll deal with the dishes."

May's mother started to protest but her daughter covered her mouth. When she turned to look, May repeatedly shook her head mouthing, 'Don't bother'.

Cal called from the sink, "I saw that! Go torment him already; I gave you the biggest invitation I could. Seth, maybe you ought to show off that blurring trick… maybe give May a nice tickle session…"

The two looked at the Treecko, who had a look of unholy glee on his face as he looked at them. He started to smirk, and May shrieked while quickly using her sleeping father as a shield. Seth then collapsed laughing (he'd already known Cal was going to pull something), Lira chuckling nearby, as was Cal from the sink… May scowled, realizing Cal had probably pranked her. "When I get my hands on you Cal, I'm gonna make you regret that!"

Cal laughed slightly and asked without turning, "With what? Going to pull a mallet out of your purse and smash me with it? Pfft." He put the dishes in the dishwasher and then shot a grin at May.

May blinked. Where in the world did he come up with THAT screwy idea? That only happened in cartoons.


	9. Onward Bound

A/N: I regret NOTHING!

Snicker

Anyway, in all seriousness, it's been awhile since my last update, I know. But hey, I'm taking a writer's course this semester so my writing style should improve. And that means once summer comes I should be able to put out more chapters... with higher quality. Anyway, enjoy and whatnot. Oh, and reviews make the writer happy...

Did I just review-whore?

I did, didn't I?

Well, ignore that line then.

* * *

Onward bound:

-------

May waved once more to her folks, while Cal waited on the sidelines. Once they were clear, May grabbed his hand as people started to look at her in confusion, saying in a rather loud (and faked tone of excitement), "That was a close match, wasn't it?"

Cal nodded slowly, then laughed, whispering to her, "Quit the overacting. That was enough, we can just talk Norman… sorry, couldn't resist… normally to each other."

May groaned. Her father liked to make puns about his name, and they were always bad, in her mind. That Cal had picked up his habit was a very bad sign, especially if her father had told Cal about how much it annoyed her. "Cal… don't make those sort of puns, got it?"

Cal winced at her tone, and nodded weakly. "Alright. I just wanted that one shot anyway… let's just get out of town, these looks are starting to creep me out. I mean, they're acting like you're some sort of celebrity… you're not even related to them!" Cal had noticed they were getting curious looks again, so his outburst was well-placed enough that the people who had been staring at them looked away, some seemingly curious about a wall nearby.

Lira growled, though whether the noise was a chuckle or in response to the stares was impossible to tell.

&&&&&

Just as they left the city, Cal's pokenav went off. The trainer grabbed it, and flipped it open, saying into the device, "Cal here. What's up?"

Norman's voice came through, saying, "Cal, just how far out of the city are you?"

Cal looked back at the city, which was definitely behind them, then said in response, "We left Petalburg behind. There a problem?"

May scowled, and stopped walking, instead glaring at a nearby tree. Cal caught the expression the teenaged girl was using, and winced slightly. He knew she didn't want to go back and have to deal with the Norman obsessed fans. So in other words, Cal had to pray Norman didn't have an issue he couldn't deal with.

Norman sighed through the connection, and then said, "I've got a junior trainer by the name of Wally here. He said he was looking for a Ralts, but couldn't find any. Cal, could you ask May where their habitats are? It's been awhile since pokemon school for me."

Cal looked around, and just as he went digging for his pokedex, froze. The very same pokemon was looking curiously at May beside a nearby bush. It noticed his attention and then turned obviously about to flee. With a very slow gesture, Cal motioned Lira forward. The Houndour, knowing what Cal wanted, nailed the Ralts with a Faint Attack from behind. Cal threw a pokeball, earning a surprised sound from May as she noticed what Cal was doing. Norman's voice, sounding surprised, asked, "Cal, what's going on?"

Cal answered dryly, "To the west of Petalburg. I kinda just caught a Ralts myself, though your daughter looks ready to fight me for it." May's death glare intensified, and Cal sent a weak smile back at her. "Send him out, and we'll go hunting for another, ok?"

Norman chuckled, and said, "You know, odd things happen around you, Cal. I'll send Wally out."

Cal nodded slightly and then picked up the pokeball while sending a grin at Lira as he did so. He then rose slowly and said to May, "There a problem May?"

May blinked and then slowly shook her head, the death glare fading away. "Not really. I just… well, I wanted to train a Gardevoir, since they're supposed to be fiercely protective of their trainers."

Cal arched an eyebrow, and then opened up the pokeball. The Ralts materialized, then instantly ran toward May, putting her between Cal and the startled pokemon.

Cal shook his head, and said to May, "It was staring at you, May. I think it would rather be with you, and I'm not forcing the issue, especially since I saw that glare. Catch." He softballed the pokeball to May who caught it with a startled expression. The Ralts peeked its head out from behind May, and then hugged her leg. May looked down at the pokemon and said, "Ralts are supposed to be attracted to good-hearted people… I guess that makes me one, doesn't it?"

The Ralts made a sound that clearly was agreement and turned a semi-scowl at Cal and Lira. The two did not really seem to care; they shrugged it off. May with a smile on her face leaned down and hugged her new pokemon.

Cal with a bemused look on his face said softly, "I guess that means I'd better look into catching an Abra. First time my pessimism had a cost to it…"

Lira growled and sent a pleading look toward Cal. The trainer caught the look, and started scratching her softly, thanking her for what she did, and acting so fast.

In less than a half hour a thin looking boy who appeared to be a year or two younger than May or Cal walked up to them with a nervous expression on his face. He peered at May, then Cal, and asked, "Uhm… are you May and Cal? Norman sent me."

Cal nodded slightly. May gave the nervous teen a reassuring grin, then gestured, saying, "Follow me. We found a nest of them, but Cal frightens them, so he'll have to stay here."

Cal managed to catch as the two walked away, "Why would a pokemon be afraid of some people but not others?"

Very shortly, the two were back, with the sickly boy (who had to be Wally) carrying a Ralts that looked smaller than the other Ralts from what he could tell. To Cal's mind, it probably was a runt… the mother wouldn't mind loosing it. Cruel as it sounded to his mind, he knew it was true…

The thin teenager stopped in front of Cal, and asked curiously, "May told me the Ralts don't like you… why?"

Cal looked at the Ralts Wally was carrying. It was watching him with a wary eye and had buried itself in Wally's protective embrace at the same time, obviously worried about him. With a sigh he explained, "Wally, Ralts are said to be sensitive to emotions. You and May are very positive people, since May attracted a Ralts just by being here, and you managed to capture one without a pokemon."

Wally looked in shock at Cal, and said in a stutter, "How… how did you… know that?"

Cal merely smiled absently, and continued, "The way it's acting, it's like you just attracted it, and the pokemon decided to stay with a kindhearted person like you… anyway, I'm not exactly a positive person. Take a look at which pokemon I 'started' with Wally."

Wally, as if for the first time, looked at Lira. The Houndour tilted her head, looking at him, her tattered ear very evident. The younger trainer stared and very obviously took two steps back, looking worried. "It… it won't attack, will it?"

Cal shook his head with a sigh, muttering, "Thanks for proving my point…" he raised his voice and said dryly, "Wally; I'm not a very positive person. In fact, I'm a pessimist in most matters… I just don't let it on. Ralts wouldn't like people like me just by nature."

Wally nodded slowly, and then walked away, the Ralts still in his arms. Cal shook his head, laughing, and turned to May, saying, "Come on, let's get going." He released Seth, then started walking westward.

May nodded, following him down the route, that turned northward, through Petalburg Woods. It was only a short time until they were standing before it and without a word entered the forest.

Within the woods, May and Cal were following the path that had been made by the footsteps of many a trainer, that lead to Rustboro. Seth and Lira were following Cal chatting among themselves though Seth was 'responding' from treetops, more at home in the trees than on the ground. The two were building up stamina; neither were showing signs of weariness.

May, on the other hand, was looking about nervously. Cal caught her chewing on her lip, and asked, "Afraid of bugs or something?"

May shook her head. "No… it's not that. This place just creeps me out, especially that monument…" She pointed to it, and Cal froze in midstep, mouthing in surprise.

May turned, noticing how Cal wasn't moving, and asked, "What? You look like you saw a Gastly."

Cal slowly shook off his shock, and said, "This is probably the place where Celebi would pop out, if it felt like visiting here…"

May's eyes widened, before she said, "Before you say anything else, call professor Birch. Dad told me he wanted a word with you. I can't believe I forgot."

Cal nodded, and flicked on his pokenav, having it place a call to Birch. After a ring tone for a few seconds, Birch came across, saying, "Hello, Birch speaking."

Cal shook his head, and responded, "Professor? Cal here."

Birch's voice shifted from a bored-sounding tone to enthusiastic, saying, "Oh, Cal! I was wondering if you'd call. May's father gave me a call, and said Lira's been learning attacks very quickly, just by observation in battle."

Cal chuckled, looking at Lira, who had gained a proud look, her tongue hanging out slightly. The Houndour looked extremely pleased with herself though Seth merely rolled his eyes muttering something that was probably 'sheesh'. The trainer then shook his head saying, "May mentioned that you wanted a word with me?"

Birch's voice came back, "Yes. I've been getting reports of a green serpent pokemon, that stays aloft without wings. Cal, do you know of any pokemon like that?"

Cal sighed and answered, "That's Rayquaza, I think I mentioned it before. It has fins along the side, and it basically swims through the air. But what the hell is it doing so close to the planet; it usually stays in the ozone layer…" Birch on the other end broke out coughing. Cal fell silent until the professor said, "Cal, I need you to tell me as much about that pokemon as you know. It… it crash landed right next to my lab, heavily injured. Its wounds are healed, but it just… won't move."

Cal looked eastward, muttering profanities. "I think I might have an idea, professor. Check for any sign of ice type attacks. Get it as warm as possible, without doing major damage to it. It might have fallen into a slumber thanks to ice type attacks. Rayquaza is like a Salamence, in terms of type, though with special powers…"

Birch, the sound of a pen racing over paper, replied, "Warm it up… got it. Once it wakes up, it won't attack, will it?"

Cal replied quietly, "Make it clear that you are going to heal it, not keep any records of it, and intend to let it go whenever it pleases, and it won't. You're dealing with a legendary pokemon, professor. Don't piss it off… and professor?"

Birch asked carefully, "Yes?"

"Try to heal it as fast as you can. I get the feeling that it was injured by people that wanted it out of the way. If it's not there anymore, they won't have any reason to bother you."

Birch was quiet, then replied, "I see… call me later when you're at a pokemon center, alright? I want to take a look at Lira's brainwave patterns and see how she's performing that feat of learning Flamethrower so quickly. And… thanks, Cal. I had no clue how to help speed its recovery because I honestly had no clue what type of pokemon it was."

Cal snorted at the pitiful look Lira acquired when Professor Birch mentioned 'brainwave patterns', and said, "It's alright. Someday, maybe humans will be ready to interact freely with legendary pokemon without trouble." He chuckled, and said, "You've got a once-in-a-lifetime experience, professor. I'd say you make should make sure you remember even if you can't take any notes or such."

Professor Birch's voice was thick with amusement as he said, "I intend to." The pokenav clicked, and shut off, the call ended.

Cal nodded slowly, and then sighed. His memory wasn't that bad…

Just as he'd feared, there was an outcry, and then a man dressed in what looked like a scientist's lab coat came running through. May sidestepped him, but Cal wasn't paying total attention, buried within his thoughts. The man plowed into the thinking trainer, and both of them fell.

Cal groaned, then got back to his feet. The other man was staring at the two of them, then said, "Help me… they stole something important…"

Cal looked at May and then nodded to Lira. "Let's go, Lira."

The Houndour nodded and then put her nose in the air before running off. Cal and Seth chased after her (Seth with ease), while May remained behind. She helped the man up and asked, "Who's 'they'?"

The man said weakly, "I don't know. He was wearing blue, and had this weird 'A' symbol… I think he mentioned Team Aqua, though I hope for your friend's sake, he was making it up…"

May laughed quietly. "Cal will be fine. He's rude and annoying sometimes but he's a brilliant trainer." She paused before saying, "Well, we'd better follow them, if you want that whatever-it-is back."

The scientist nodded, and followed May as she walked after Cal, the sounds of a battle easily cluing her in at which way he'd gone. Typically, the 'sounds' only lasted for a short while, but she had a good directional sense.

&&&&&

Cal kept on running after Lira until she launched herself at a blue-cloaked figure, bowling the figure over.

Cal remained silent even as he looked at the symbol etched on the cloak. The figure got back up, and turned.

His hands were holding a suitcase full of something. He dismissively looked over Cal, and said, "Beat it boy before something bad happens to you."

Cal yawned, and said in a bored tone, "Team Aqua. Remind me again why you want to raise Kyogre? To expand the oceans, or some crap like that? You do realize you'll make life hell for everyone, right?"

The man froze; an expression of shock on his face. Lira, seizing the opportunity used Faint Attack twice in succession, and stole the 'briefcase' that was obviously full of something, laying it out beside Cal.

The Aqua grunt cursed, and threw a pokeball, saying, "Poochyena, get that case back!"

As the Poochyena materialized, Cal said softly, "Merciful Mew… that was a bad idea…"

In less than a second, Lira was on the Poochyena, firing a direct-hit with a black-red (due to her type, the flames were not a pure red flame) Flamethrower at the pokemon. It didn't even have time to notice her before it fainted.

The Aqua grunt stared in shock at his fainted pokemon, before returning it. It was obvious he was thinking about trying to steal it back himself, up until Lira and Seth stood side by side, glaring at him. The fact that Lira had sparks popping out of her closed mouth helped persuade him to run like a pack of Houndoom were after him.

Cal shook his head and picked up the case saying to the two as he did so, "Good job Lira. Thanks, Seth. I promise you'll have some fun at the next city… there's a gym there I want to take on."

Seth grinned, while Lira gained a dark-looking smile.

May caught up to the three a minute later, a tired-looking scientist in tow. Cal looked the man over, then handed him the case, saying in a bored tone, "One Devon goods case, returned. Next time, bring a frigging pokemon with you for protection."

The man stared at the trainer, before saying, "That was quite rude."

Cal sighed and looked at Lira. She rolled her eyes and spat, "Dour, Houndour."

Cal added onto whatever Lira said by saying, "If you'd had one, this whole mess would have been avoided. Lira here took out that grunt's pokemon with one shot. Any decent pokemon could have fought that grunt off."

The scientist blinked, and then slumped. He said apologetically, "I know… Devon recommends that any employee carry a pokemon for protection, but I thought I was safe…"

Cal shook his head, and started walking away toward the end of the forest, and toward Rusburo. He had a gym to get to.

May looked apologetically at the man, and said, "Sorry, he's a bit… weird. But you really ought to think about keeping a decent pokemon with you for protection just in case this happens again."

The man nodded, and May jogged off, catching up with Cal as he reached the edge of the forest.

As she passed through the end of the forest, she stopped and looked at the flower shop that caught her eye. "No way… Pretty Petal is open?"

Cal and Lira turned, looking at her in confusion, up until she gained a beatific smile and seemed to drift inside releasing her Seedot as she did so.

Seth commented with an eye roll, "Tree, Treecko."

Lira snorted and nodded. Cal nodded slightly as well and called out, "May, we'll meet you at the pokemon center in Rustboro, ok?"

May turned, nodded absently, and then went back to looking around inside the shop her Seedot toddling after her. The two pokemon and one human (assuming he was human by the world's standards) exchanged a look before walking towards Rustboro.


End file.
